Clouds
by LeftyLovely
Summary: The Glee Project 2. Nellie moves to the Windy City, where she works to become her own person with the help of her new musically-inclined friends, including one charming, thoughtful calculus tutor. Now, if only it would rain. Includes Michellie, Chaylin, and some OCs. Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from the Glee Project. They are their own people. This is fiction.
1. Chapter 1

Nellie frowned slightly as she adjusted the lens on her camera. Today was her first day at Roosevelt High School, and she had finally relaxed; she was in her seventh period art class. After a day filled with strenuous classwork and general unfamiliarity, it was good to come outdoors and take some snapshots of her new surroundings. Photography was something she_ was_ familiar with.

Roosevelt had an art elective called 'Art Without Borders'. When Nellie saw it on the registration listings she had her parents sign her up without another moment's thought. Earlier today she'd found out that 'Art Without Borders' meant that the class's students could make any kind of art that they wanted to as long as it had an explainable inspiration and creation process. Also, the class literally didn't have borders; they tried to go out on the campus and work plein air style whenever the weather allowed them.

After the class's instructions, Nellie approached the art teacher, introduced herself, and explained to him her idea of doing photography for her first project.

"The photos could be what the school looks like to me. They won't be prettied up or glamorous, they would be shown the way I, an outsider, sees them. A person who doesn't know where to look." Nellie said breathlessly, the idea just coming to her. She hadn't even been on the grounds yet.

Mr. Kington peered down at her, pleased to see that this girl who had been looking so gloomy when she came in that day now was excited and out of breath at the prospect of taking photos. It showed her passion for the arts. He smiled. "I like your thinking, Nellie." He told her. "But remember, to pass this as a project you need to turn in all your original photographs, tell me how you edited them and why, and then finally turn in the finished product."

"I will." She smiled softly and gratefully at him before following the rest of the class out the door. She wandered around to the back of the building, where you could see part of the bluff that surrounded it in the background and the windows of the library. There were scattered benches for studiers and picnickers. All of this combined with the crisp autumn colors made for a nice view. For a suburb, this place was pretty picturesque.

But the prettiness would not help her pictures. At least the grass was dry and dead and not pretty. It had yet to rain a day since she had been here. It had blown and blustered, which Nellie reasoned was appropriate for Chicago in mid-October, but she still missed the rain. Back home it would rain softly for two weeks straight, then stop for half of a day, then continue on and off like the sky couldn't make up its mind. Here it just clouded over and blew like an overzealous wind god.

Nellie's purple cardigan started flapping around in the wind. She buttoned it up part way. She was glad she'd braided her dark bangs back today. Her first-day-at-a-new-school outfit consisted of a blue shirt with a bird graphic on it, the afore-mentioned purple cardigan, jeans, and converse sneakers. She wore a touch more makeup than usual and little white studs in her ears.

Nellie walked directly under the library windows, which were tall and narrow on the second floor. There was a girl up there, leaning against the window and holding an opened book. Nellie began to take shots that were from the view of a person gazing up at the windows from ground level. The shots showed the gray blocks in the walls of the building and the library windows, which seemed quite high and distant compared to where Nellie was. Looking at a full-sized picture would hopefully give the viewer the feeling that they were standing in front of something much taller and larger than themself.

Behind Nellie was the sidewalk and part of the quad, and beyond that, the bluff. She sat on one of the benches beneath the tall windows and oaks and took a moment to breathe. She had made it through her first day. Then she resumed taking pictures. A big oak in front of the bench obscured her almost totally from view.

"Sorry to interrupt, but this is usually my spot." Nellie looked up, startled. Behind her stood a tall girl with wavy, dark, medium-length hair and bangs. Here slight smile showed a trace of amusement but she seemed friendly. This girl had on jeans, red suede ankle boots, a black multi-pocketed jacket and a scarf.

Nellie ducked her head. "I'm sorry, I can move." She apologized and made to move past the girl.

"You can stay." She told Nellie. Nellie stopped and turned around. The girl shot her a friendly smile. Her eyes were the color of the pine tree that was in front of her old house. "There's no reason why we can't both work here."

"Um, alright. Are you sure you're okay with this?" Nellie asked the girl hesitantly.

The girl sensed Nellie's nerves. "Are you sure_ you're_ okay with this?" The girl asked, keeping eye contact with her.

Nellie nodded. "I'll stay. Thanks." She returned the girl's half-smile before turning around to take photos. The other girl situated herself on the bench, opening up her sketch book and getting out pencils and charcoal.

"So Miss Photographer, who are you and where are you from?" Nellie turned around, surprised.

"How do you know I'm new?" she asked.

"Power of deduction." She replied, gazing up at the library windows, never taking her eyes off her work.

"Like Sherlock Holmes?" Nellie smiled. She'd read the books freshman year and was now a fan of the BBC series.

"Like Sherlock." The girl smiled back at her.

"Explain what you deducted then." Nellie told her.

"You do know that you're going to have to answer the original question sometime, right?" The girl asked, one eyebrow raised. Then she continued. "Nobody can transfer classes until semester, which hasn't happened yet. Combine that with the fact that I've never seen you before in my life, and well, bingo. You're new." She explained, and then eyed Nellie expectantly. Nellie sighed.

"My name is Nellie and I'm a junior." She started. "I'm from Washington originally."

The girl smiled. "Nice to meet you, Nellie. I'm Elizabeth. But since that's somewhat of a mouthful, most people call me Eliza."

Nellie nodded at her and smiled. "Hello, Eliza. It's nice to meet someone with an actual friendly face. What grade are you in?" Nellie asked. Though she was introverted, she wanted to try to get out of her shell more at this new school.

"I'm a sophomore. And I apologize for the school." Eliza said, going back to her sketch. "It's not that we don't care about new people, it's that we're usually so focused on our own lives to notice." Nellie noticed her use of "we" instead of "they".

"Well you're the first person to start an actual conversation with me today. Why did you, anyway?" Nellie asked, genuinely confused. If she was part of the "we", then why would she notice her?

"You were in my spot." She smiled. "And I was curious. I_ am_ curious. Still, I'm the first?" She asked Nellie.

"Unless you count the librarian."

"You're not in classes with the right people then." Eliza told Nellie. "I can introduce you to them later if you'd like." Eliza peered over Nellie's shoulder. "I like your photos by the way. I'm somewhat of an amateur photographer myself. Have you tried taking any candids?"

The two girls continued to talk for the rest of the period. They discussed their artistic creations and abilities, classes, Chicago, the weather, and of course, the mutual love for music. Eliza had just finished outlining what it was like to be a percussionist in the school band when the bell rang. The two girls packed up and were headed back inside when a thought occurred to Eliza.

"Do you need a ride home, Nellie?" Eliza asked. "My brother and I can take you if you do." Truth be told, Nellie reminded Eliza a lot of Michael.

"No, that's okay. I want to bike." She'd hardly done it in Washington because you always ran the unpredictable risk of getting soaked.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Eliza asked tentatively. She could tell that she could become good friends with this new girl.

"See you tomorrow." Nellie smiled. She went off to her locker and grabbed her stuff, then found her bike. As Nellie started pedaling to her new home, the sky clouded over. It looked as if it might rain.

**Hello!**

**I just wanted to explain this quickly. I know there are a lot of stories like this, but I wanted to make my own story about these people. I also wanted some original characters in there to give it kind of a different feel. A more realistic one, though I have no idea if Michael actually has a sister or not. Please write, review, and suggest. I plan to have Shanna, Blake, Charlie, Abraham, Aylin, and Ali in the story later, but is there anyone else you'd like? Any Season 1 people? A quick heads up: I'm watching the show on a delay, so the last episode I've seen is Theatricality. Don't spoil me. Lastly, this is kind of a goofy story, so thank you all for reading it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Glee Project cast.**


	2. Chapter 2

Eliza was in a good mood the next day as she closed her locker and headed to first period. The main reason for her happiness was the fact that she had a new friend. Eliza had a good feeling about Nellie. She usually needed more time to decide on how she felt about a person (she liked to take everything into account), but she just sensed that Nellie was a kindred spirit. She hoped that she and Nellie would become close. As for who else Nellie would become close to, well, Eliza had a hunch.

As she made her way down the hall, various guys passed by her, looking at her a little longer than was necessary to safely walk by. As his sister, Eliza possessed some of same physical qualities Michael had. She had the dark curls, the bright eyes, and the easy smile. Instead of her brother's healthy tan, she had her mother's porcelain skin. But Eliza, though fully aware what Michael's good looks and charm did to the hearts of high school girls, she wasn't aware that she held the same amount of power.

As Eliza pondered Nellie, Michael, and her various homework assignments, she made her way to where a group of guys were standing. Two were tall and had curly hair, while the other one was short and Asian, but gained at least two inches with his hair: Charlie, Michael, and Abraham.

"Morning, boys." She greeted them as she stood behind them.

"Liza! Long time no see." Michael, closest to her, replied smiling. He'd driven her to school 15 minutes ago. He pulled her by the elbow into the circle.

"Elizabeth." Charlie said seriously to her. He had a boyish face and blue eyes and was dressed in cobalt pants and gray striped tee.

"Charles." She replied and returned the bow.

"Hey, Eliza." Abraham said, leaning against the lockers, his red backpack slung over one shoulder. "Settle an argument, will you?"

"How much sleep did you get, Abraham?" Eliza questioned him, concerned.

"Too little, I had to study for Chemistry, but that's not the point." Abraham replied, closing his eyes but getting back to the topic at hand. "Mike, explain."

Michael turned to his sister. "Abraham and I are in a debate about what is the best unconventional topping on ice cream. I say peanut butter, he says licorice." Michael explained calmly. "Charlie says banana slices, so he's no help."

Eliza frowned. "How do you serve licorice on ice cream?"

"You chop it up into little cubes and let them rain down on top of the ice cream, forming both a visually appealing and delectable dessert." Abraham told her animatedly.

"I haven't ever tried this concoction, Abraham, so my judgment is disqualified," Eliza told them carefully, "But if I had to choose one, I would have to say peanut butter is the superior choice."  
She ruled. Michael whooped and did a tiny victory dance.

"Just you wait!" Abraham shouted at Michael. "I'll get Blake and Shanna to back me up!"

"We need to have an official tasting battle!" Charlie shouted, jumping up. "All of us, Friday after the show. Then we could have an actual showdown!"

"Done." Abraham said, shaking Charlie's hand.

"Sounds like fun." Michael said, laughing a little at Abraham's murderous glare at him. "Excuse me, it sounds like torture! My throne is being threatened!" He amended. Eliza smiled at the intense ice-cream defenders.

"See you guys at lunch." She grinned at them and then began to move through the halls.

"Eliza, wait up!" Someone yelled and slid into the wall on her right. It was Charlie. "Eliza, why won't you go out with me?"

Eliza turned around and faced him. She'd had a feeling this would come up. "Charlie, you're sweet, but I just won't." His face dimmed. "You're my friend and basically my second brother. I just don't care for you that way, and I know you don't either."

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked her, confused.

"You, my dear boy," she jabbed his chest, "Are tired of being alone, and I don't blame you. You need a girl and you think I'm the best for the job, because I'm apparently the best girl you know. But you've never stared at me or hinted things, like you've done in the past when you have liked other girls." She told him as they walked side by side down the halls.

"Why are you the best?" Charlie asked, trying to get rid of the sinking feeling that she was right. But she was Eliza. She only said things like this if she was right.

"Because I'm decent-looking, musically-inclined, and nice." She replied. "And single. You want to date someone, and you think because of the previous reasons you want to date me. And because it would annoy Michael."

Charlie laughed. "That's just an added bonus! But I have to say Liza, you definitely are smarter than me." He looked at her nervously. "As amazing as you are, I guess you're right. If we were supposed to be together it would have happened by now." He'd known Eliza since elementary school and had never, in all of the years spent as friends, had a crush on her.

"I'm glad you came to your senses." They were in the Algebra 2 classroom now.

Charlie sighed. "Yeah, but I'm still alone." He plopped down in his desk. "Why is it that all the girls I've been interested in get all starry-eyed for Michael, who hasn't dated anyone in a year and a half?" Charlie questioned exasperatedly. "And you, the girl who couldn't possibly like Michael, rejects me anyway. What is my problem?" He laid his he down on his desk.

Eliza pouted at him. "Poor Charlie. And you forget the plethora of girls who have crushes on Blake. Some even like you."

"Who?"

"You don't know them, which brings me to your problem. You don't know enough girls, Charlie." Eliza told him briskly.

"Are you accusing me of not being sufficiently outgoing?" He asked, his eyes wide. "And what other girls are there to know?"

Eliza laughed at his outgoing comment. "There are new girls, people you never really paid attention to, and all of the freshmen girls. Don't roll your eyes. We're only sophomores." She took out her calculator and began to fidget with it. "In fact, I met a new junior girl yesterday in Art."

"Oh?" Charlie asked eagerly.

"Sorry, not your type. She was just an example of how many new people there are for you to meet."

"She likes Michael, doesn't she?" Charlie said mutinously, running a hand through his hair. "See, girls who like Blake can also like me, because we're both friendly and nice and silly. Girls who fall for Michael like his quiet thoughtfulness and brilliance, which I don't have any of."

"She doesn't like Michael. Not yet." Eliza smiled as the bell rung. "She hasn't even met him. And what you lack in brilliance you make up for in charm."

"How do you charm your way to a girl's heart?" Charlie asked her, frustrated.

"You sing to them, Charles."

Nellie's second day wasn't exactly peachy keen. All the classes here were on different curriculums than the classes back home, so she was basically either way behind or way ahead. She was especially confused in her Pre-Calculus class, so much that she could barely follow along. Apparently, the juniors in Illinois were more advanced than the Washington kids in math. Luckily her literature class was reading _A Tree Grows in Brooklyn_, which she'd already read and liked.

As Nellie moved from her fourth period (PreCalc) to her locker to grab her things for lunch, she realized that no one had attempted a conversation with her today. She had to agree with Eliza; she just wasn't in classes with friendly people. Except seventh period, she reasoned, which she was excited for. Last night she'd had a crazy dream where she was back at her old school. But instead of being a student, she was a ghost. No one could see her or hear her. She watched her friends act in a fall musical, which for some reason also included David Tennant as a cast member, and hang out without her. She'd woken up crying and missing her friends dearly. She decided it would be good to be around a new friend.

"Hey, Nellie!" Nellie turned around happily. Her new friend had timing.

"Hey, Eliza." Nellie replied, greeting her. They continued walking down the hallway. "Do you have lunch this period?"

"Mm-hmm." Eliza said, following Nellie over to her locker. "And so do most of my friends. How would you like to sit with us?" She asked.

Nellie breathed a sigh of relief. "I'd love to. Thank you." She smiled at Eliza, who was wearing an oxford shirt, jeans, and tall, equestrian-style boots.

"Don't worry; they're all nice and friendly, if a little tired." Eliza swung her lunch box as they left Nellie's locker and strolled in the direction of the cafeteria. "They all seem to run low on energy on the midweek slump."

"That's okay. I'm a little worn out myself." More than a little, but that didn't really matter. She pointed to Eliza's lunch box, which was geometrically duct-taped. "Did you make that?"

"I did, actually." Eliza said glancing down at it as they approached the cafeteria.

"It's really cool." Nellie told her.

Eliza smiled. "Thanks. However, while mine might be cool, that's adorable." Nellie's lunch box was a pink and blue snail. It was indeed adorable.

"Thanks." Nellie said as they walked into the cafeteria. She was glad that she was walking with Eliza. The two of them, being uniquely beautiful and somewhat mysterious, directed some stares. Apparently new people became interesting when they ate in the cafeteria.

"Okay. Follow me." Eliza directed as she looked out into the sea of people. They walked to a table over to one side near a window and the doors leading to the outside seating area. Liza waved.

Nellie looked at the table, which held a mixture of boys and girls. None of them looked remarkably familiar. There was a girl with long blonde hair, an Asian boy with a cool jacket, a curly-haired boy who seemed to be building something with graham crackers, and another boy with longish light-brown hair egging him on.

When they reached the table the blonde piped up. "Hi, Eliza!" she said perkily. "Who's your friend?" She smiled at Nellie. Scratch that, she beamed like the sun.

"Hi, Shanna." Eliza replied. "Attention, all friends and table members!" They all looked up at her. "I present to you Nellie, a new junior whom I am sure you will all adore." She gestured to Nellie, and then sat down next to the longer-haired boy. She waved Nellie over and she sat down next to Eliza. The boy reached behind Eliza to shake the new girl's hand.

"I'm Blake. It's nice to meet you." He said. He had a good-natured smile and a strong handshake. Nellie smiled softly back at him. The girl with the blonde hair waved at her from across the table.

"Hi Nellie, it's so nice to meet you." She had a cute, southern twang to her voice. "We need another girl to hang out with. I'm Shanna."

"Hi. Thanks for having me." Nellie said semi-shyly. This caused and outburst from the Asian boy.

"You brought another totally loveable, proper-mannered girl into the group!" He yelled at Eliza, who just looked amused as she munched on some celery. He quickly reached his hand across the graham crackers to shake and smiled nonchalantly. "I'm Abraham, great to have you." He told Nellie.

Shanna leaned over to her. "Abraham is overtired today because he had to study for Chemistry. He's not crazy." Nellie nodded. She'd had Chemistry and just barely passed the quiz, it definitely was tough. Shanna waved a hand in front of the curly-haired boy's face. "Charlie, stop staring at your graham castle for a second and say hello!"

He looked up and Nellie and greeted her. "Hello, Nellie! Liza told me about you. I'm Charlie." He shot her a goofy smile before returning to his work.

"May I ask why you're making a graham cracker castle?" Eliza asked him reproachfully. He didn't look up when answering.

"Earlier this morning I was talking to Michael, and he wondered aloud if you could make a house of graham crackers the same way you could make a house of cards." Charlie said, concentrating on the castle. "This idea caused spark in me, and I was gonna question Michael about it, but then he ran off." He carefully laid a graham cracker on top of two others.

Nellie decided she liked Charlie. She imagined a light bulb going off above his head at the mention of a graham cracker house.

"How did you get the crackers then?" Abraham mumbled, his head lying on the table right next to the crackers. He had a very good view of one side of the castle and Charlie's hands.

"Blake and I have study hall third hour." Charlie said. "We left to get supplies. Then, I decided to make a castle." He stopped for a second and paused to admire his creation. "Too bad Mike isn't here to see it." He turned to Eliza. "Hey, Eliza, do you think Kington would let this pass for a project for AWB?"

Eliza laughed and rolled her emerald eyes. "You'd have to explain your inspiration to him."

Nellie was confused. "You're in our class, too?" She questioned Charlie.

Charlie nodded. "Yep. But I usually stay inside to sculpt."

Shanna patted him on the arm. "Our Charlie is very, uh, innovative." She told Nellie.

Nellie smiled. "Personally, I think the graham cracker castle is a great idea for a project. It's a piece of culinary architecture."

Abraham sat up, stretched, and tried to fix his smushed hair. "I don't know how I'm supposed to stay bummed out with Nellie here. She's too infectiously sweet." He looked at Nellie and assumed a dramatic pose. "I am but a sad bowl of oatmeal compared to you, Nellie. You are a children's breakfast cereal, sweet and lovely, and I am a soggy mess." He declared. Nellie hid her face in her hands and giggled.

Blake raised a hand. "Let it be known that in this cereal analogy, I'm Cap'n Crunch." everyone laughed at him and his terrible pirate accent. Charlie gave him a high five.

"Abraham, let's be real here," Eliza said, folding her hands and looking at him intently. "If you were a cereal, you would totally be Rice Crispies."

"Snap, crackle, pop!" Shanna yelled fiercely and attempted to bust an Abraham-like move. He smiled.

"I guess you're right," Abraham admitted, "But that's still not sweet."

"It's still good, though." Nellie said, and he brightened.

"You think so?" She nodded. He poked Charlie in the arm. "Charlie, if you were a cereal, what would you be?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He looked up and smiled at them. "Trix." Nobody disagreed with that.

"What about you, Shan?" Blake asked, nudging her. She appeared to be deep in thought.

"I think Frosted Flakes." She decided, sweeping hair away from her clear blue eyes. "Liza?"

The dark haired girl was taking a sip from her water bottle, but she wiggled her eyebrows at them. "Apple Jacks." She told them when she'd swallowed. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Hey," Charlie said looking up at them, alarmed. "Nellie never chose what cereal she'd be!" They all turned to her expectantly.

"Oh." She said, thinking. "Uh, Cocoa Puffs."

Blake smiled at Nellie. "Good choice." He told her.

"Guys," Shanna said, now faced with a dilemma. "What cereal is Michael?" That started a wild debate among the friends. Everyone started talking at once, trying to decide what cereal was for Michael.

"Wait!" Nellie shouted, and everyone turned to her. "Who's Michael?"

"Michael," Abraham told her, "Is Eliza's ridiculously good-looking older brother. He and Blake make such a swoon-worthy pair that Charlie and I get jealous on a regular basis." Charlie nodded in agreement. Blake looked uneasy. Nellie decided, even though it wasn't really important to her, that Blake was definitely cute in a popular, football-player way. All the boys were good-looking.

"He's tutoring in the library now." Eliza tried to save the conversation. "And stop hyping him up! Let Nellie develop her own opinion of him when she meets him."

"Well, that's my opinion of him." Abraham muttered. "Let's get back to cereal!" With some smiles at that, they were back debating.

Shanna and Charlie had a strong argument going for Golden Grahams while Blake, Abraham, and Eliza thought that didn't fit. They'd all finished their lunches and were gathered around Charlie, helping him with the graham castle. Nellie had become the graham castle's second in command because she was the only one listening peacefully and happily to the disagreement. Her group of girlfriends in Washington was great, but they were too serious to argue about cereal personalities.

Abraham slammed his fist on his table. "Don't do that!" Charlie yelled and shot him a look, the graham castle wobbling treacherously.

"Sorry!" Abraham whispered then returned to his normal voice. "He's not Golden Grahams, I tell you!"

"Who's not Golden Grahams?" A voice from behind them asked.

Nellie looked up. A fit, tanned boy in a red sweatshirt and jeans stood in front of them, smiling slightly. He ran a hand through his curly, chocolate brown hair then wandered closer to the table.

"Michael," Eliza said, "If you were a cereal what would you be?"

"Hmm." His brow furrowed as he mulled it over and leaned against the table. Nellie, meanwhile, was mulling him over. She could see Abraham's point. "I know!" he said, lighting up as he turned to Eliza, "Cinnamon Toast Crunch!" Shanna and Charlie considered that, and Blake, Eliza, and Abraham looked pleased._ That_ fit. "Why, what are you?" He asked Eliza curiously.

"Apple Jacks," She replied promptly. Michael smiled. Then he caught sight of the graham castle.

"Charlie, you seriously attempted it? That's awesome!" He hurried forward to examine it, and then spotted the person hovering behind it, adjusting one of the walls. "Oh," he muttered, staring at the girl by the castle. She had short black hair that was falling in her face as she worked, soft facial features, and eyes just as dark as her hair. She looked up and spotted him, her eyes landing on his. They were warm, and intriguingly pretty. She was wearing a simple white shirt and a colorful scarf.

Eliza came to stand behind him. "Michael, say hello to Nellie. She's new."

He held out a long, tan hand. "Hello," He said, smiling down at her. "I'm Michael, Eliza's brother."

She smiled shyly back at him. His eyes were lighter than Eliza's, more of an olive color, but they were just as inviting and rich. "I'm Nellie. It's nice to meet you." She felt a blush coming on for some reason.

"Likewise." He replied, letting go of her hand and turning back to everyone else. "So, why are we cereal?" Michael asked, nonplussed. This lunch behavior was normal.

"Abraham was feeling metaphorical; he said he was some sad oatmeal and Nellie was a children's cereal because she's so sweet." Eliza told him. She could be counted on to be reasonable.

"Ah." He nodded as he began to examine the graham castle from every angle. "So Nellie, what sugary-sweet cereal did you end up being?" He asked, some of his usual goofiness creeping into his tone.

"Cocoa Puffs." They shared a smile before he moved on with the questions.

"Blake?" Michael questioned his best friend expectantly.

"Cap'n Crunch." That got a chuckle from Michael.

"Charles?" he asked.

Charlie raised his head for a second. "Trix."

"Perfect." Michael smiled. "Shanna?"

"Frosted Flakes," She said primly and beamed at him.

"She's grrrrreat!" Blake shouted from behind her. Shanna laughed and swatted him playfully. Michael just shook his head at them then moved on to Abraham.

"Abraham, we all know you aren't actually oatmeal," Michael said, raising his eyebrows at him.

Abraham looked at Michael. "No, I'm Rice Crispies."He replied proudly and Michael cracked up.

"If you ever need a preforming or superhero alias, that's should be involved." Michael told him earnestly, but with a smile. Charlie tugged on his arm.

"The bell's going to ring any second," Charlie whispered. "You need to help me transport this." Michael quickly focused on the castle, making a game plan with Charlie and Blake. Charlie had been forward-thinking enough to build it on his art portfolio, which was big enough to hold the castle. The plan was to lift it and move it as quickly as possible to the art room. As predicted, the bell rang and everyone in the room was suddenly on their feet and moving toward the exits. The guys started hauling the castle out the campus doors, even though it was already shaking, and the girls walked out of the cafeteria entrance.

"I like your scarf, Nellie. It looks like it is water colored!" Eliza told her as they left. They were discussing clothes, though she could tell Nellie wasn't particularly focused on the subject.

"Thanks." Nellie smiled, fondling the yellow, blue, and purple scarf tied around her neck. She felt happier than she had in days. The girls continued to talk fashion, topics ranging from theater costumes to their own closets. Nellie mentioned how much she liked Shanna's baby doll dress, who then expressed how she wished she owned Eliza's boots.

They came to the hallway intersection where they had to part ways. Eliza turned a corner and yelled over her shoulder. "See you in Art!" Nellie waved to her and Shanna, who followed after Liza, and wandered off to her locker. She was glad it hadn't been a dreary day.

** Hello, guys! This chapter is a lot longer and features all of your TGP2 characters in it, and I hope you like it. I've now seen Tenacity and Romanticality. Please review, I haven't gotten any and it's disheartening. Just tell me what you think! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

Nellies' Thursday morning passed quickly enough, though PreCalc was agonizing for her. She walked to the cafeteria by herself, she hadn't seen and of her new friends yet today and figured they had already gathered at the lunch table. She walked in the direction of the table they'd sat at yesterday, and saw four heads bobbing up and down. But only two of the heads were familiar. Their hair was dark, curly, and untamed; Eliza and Charlie. The other two heads were blonde and were moving with excitement at the conversation. Eliza was laughing at something one of the blonde boys said, her head thrown back, and then she spotted Nellie. She gestured with her head for her to come over. Nellie did.

"Nellie!" Charlie was the first person to greet her. "You came back! With all of the craziness yesterday, I didn't expect to see you."

Eliza elbowed him in the ribs. "Nellie, meet Adam and Luke, percussionists extraordinaire." She said and pulled her down to sit. "Guys, this is Nellie. She's new, so don't freak her out too much."

"Rats. I was looking forward to showing someone new my spewing nose!" One of them said, grinning. Nellie figured he'd be short if he were standing. He had floppy, sandy-colored hair, pale skin, hazel eyes, and freckles. He looked young and sweet, but she was a little scared of him at the moment.

"They don't nose-spew usually." Eliza told Nellie, much to her relief.

"Who says today is a usual day?" The other boy said mischievously, raising his eyebrows at Eliza. "We tend to act unusually when we are around such ladies as yourselves." He grinned at Nellie. He was tanned and looked to be taller than the other boy, with deep brown eyes and full lips. His unruly, honey-blonde hair was a mess of short curls.

Eliza turned to him. "Adam, today can be an unusual day without involving spewing."

"As you wish, Liza." He replied easily and smiled boyishly at her. He was cute it a sporty, punk way.

"So where is everybody?" Nellie asked, glancing at the empty half of the table as she opened her lunchbox.

"Emergency glee rehearsal," Charlie answered, throwing some French fries into his mouth.

"Glee?" Nellie asked, her ears perking up like a dog's.

"You know, the joyful feeling you get while singing show tunes and dancing simultaneously?" Charlie asked. "Most people think that glee is just the dancing and singing bit, but I think it really is the raw emotion of joy you feel during the preforming process."

"That was beautiful, Charles." Luke said, holding in a laugh. He shoved a gigantic forkful of spaghetti in his mouth to cover.

"All of your friends but us are members of the glee club?" Nellie asked incredulously.

"We're very gleeful people," Eliza told her. "Out of yesterday's group, I'm the only one who's never been in it."

"Really? Why not?" Nellie asked. When she and Eliza met the other day the other girl had admitted that she liked to sing.

"Because she has far too many instruments to keep up, a job latter to climb, a beautiful figure to maintain, feelings to express, and crazy but exceedingly attractive friends to keep in line." Adam answered for her and winked at Nellie. She smiled as Eliza rolled her eyes.

"Have I told you you're an arrogant prick today?" Eliza asked him tiredly.

"No, and I've missed it." He shot her a grin. "Hey, George and the other guys are here now, so were going talk to them." He told her and gestured to a table where a group of soccer boys were sitting down.

"Yeah, see you later Liza, Charlie." Luke got up. "Nice meeting you, Nellie, even if I didn't get to show you my talents."

"See you later, Lady Elizabeth. Bye Nellie!" He waved as they walked away. Eliza rolled her eyes but smiled after them.

"Charlie, you were in glee club?" Nellie asked as she took a bite of chicken.

"Oh yeah," he said, nodding in remembrance. "It was fun, despite my creativity getting stifled."

Nellie looked up at him with concerned, dark eyes. "They stifled your creativity?"

"Charlie, aren't you forgetting something?" Eliza asked him calmly, raising her eyebrows.

He sighed. "Well, they didn't stifle my creativity exactly, but there was talk of it, so I quit." He told Nellie haltingly.

"You're too melodramatic," Eliza told him and sat up to talk. "This is what happened: Charlie is a bit spontaneous and crazy when preforming," Nellie's eyes widened but she was smiling. "The piano player, Brad, was a little freaked out by him. Brad mentioned this to the teacher, who then mentioned it to Charlie, who then left the club."

Charlie shrugged. "I wanted the guy to feel comfortable." He said good-naturedly. "So I decided to give him some space."

"You stopped preforming so the accompanist could have some space?" Nellie asked disbelievingly. She would never give up preforming.

"If I really, really needed it I would have come back already. But I still sort of view it as a leave of absence. I might return someday." Charlie told them. "But in the meantime, I get to hang with Eliza, who needs someone to keep her company on glee days." He poked Liza in the arm.

"Huh." Nellie was impressed with Charlie's selflessness. "So you all can sing?"

Eliza nodded. "You do too, right?" She asked Nellie, who quickly looked suspicious. "Don't give me that look. I would have become friends with you even if you were tone deaf; it was your sparkling personality that made me reach out to you. And all of our friends who are in glee have this lunch period so they can practice when needed."

"We have other friends who can't sing," Charlie added. "Like Luke." Nellie looked mollified.

"If you were making friends by singing you would have heard me by now." She smiled at them.

"We'd like to hear you now," Eliza said temptingly, wiggling her eyebrows and smiling.

"I'll be happy to sing for you, just not it the lunchroom." Nellie replied, laughing.

"What's wrong with singing in the lunchroom?" Charlie smiled innocently as he asked Nellie. "I do it all the time." With that he stood up and began singing. "_I walked across an empty land," _He started out, walking in place. "_I knew the pathway like the back of my hand,"_ He dramatically raised his hand, then pulled it down slowly. A group of girls walked passed on their way outside and giggled. Charlie winked at them. "_I felt the earth beneath my feet,"_ He tried to moonwalk and tripped on a chair leg.

Nellie, who was blushing and laughing, caught him before he fell and pulled on his arm. "Come and sit down."

Charlie obligingly sat, but he didn't stop singing. "_Sat by the river and it made me complete."_ He made little wave motions with his arms.

Nellie and Eliza were falling over into each other laughing. "I think after that impromptu serenade," Charlie told Nellie, "You need to make an agreement to sing."

Eliza put her arm around Nellie and smiled kindly at her. "We can go outside to a private section of the campus if you want." She suggested. "But only if you want to sing."

Nellie shook her head and smiled. "No, no," She said. "I'll do it. Here," She reached her arm across to Charlie, "I'll even pinky-swear."

"Do you solemnly swear to sing for your friends tomorrow?" Charlie asked her seriously.

"I do." They shook pinkies. Charlie whooped and launched into a story about the graham castle in AWB. By the time lunch was over Nellie had forgotten all about her homesickness and evil PreCalc homework.

"Nellie, did the guys freak you out?" Eliza asked her worriedly. They were back in AWB, the same spot they were seated the other day. Eliza was working on her sketch while Nellie sorted through a stack of developed photos, making notes and arranging them. The sky overhead was clouding over.

"Adam and Luke? No, they were funny." Nellie told Eliza truthfully.

"I'll give you a quick backstory on them so you can use it against them if necessary." Eliza told her. "Luke loses or breaks everything he touches; he even broke a kazoo in the first hour he had it."

"How do you break a kazoo?" Nellie asked amusedly.

"By pouring water down it." Eliza said. The girls shared exasperated looks. "Long story. But he's this amazing musical talent and is goofy and honest. He's also the school's mascot, which I love him for doing." Eliza elaborated, smiling at the thought.

Nellie smiled, too. "They reminded me of my friend Lana's brothers. She has three. What about Adam?" She dimmed a little at the thought of Lana. But if Charlie, Luke, and Adam were younger and red-headed they would definitely pass for the Kendal brothers.

Liza sighed and swung her head over to look at Nellie. "I've known him since preschool, when he was just a little curly-haired thing." She told Nellie with a slight smile. "He's as brilliant as Michael, maybe even more, but he's also a soccer and baseball star. So he's popular, not to mention a huge flirt. But he's really dedicated to music, though." She continued. "He likes to sneak up on me in band and scare me, and scrounge food off of me." She finished, erasing some of her sketch.

"So why were they here today?" Nellie asked her. "Did they see you and Charlie all alone?"

"They probably did, but they come and hang whenever they want to, no matter who's there." Eliza told Nellie. "But they really wanted to talk to me about practice, which brings me to another important subject." Nellie looked up the show Eliza she had her attention. "I'm in a band with Adam and Luke, outside of school."

"That's really cool." Nellie said, imagining Eliza and her boys rocking out in a garage somewhere.

"Thanks." Eliza gave her a smile. "We have a gig on Friday at this funky restaurant downtown, and the whole gang comes along to eat and dance and participate. After we play, Michael does a set. He's the head liner." Nellie was surprised by this, but she smiled at the idea. "After the show, we congregate at Charlie's house for dessert. We were wondering if you'd like to join us." Eliza finished hopefully.

Nellie was torn between being delighted and overwhelmed. "Eliza, I'd love to hang out with you guys, but I don't know if I'm going to be up for it." It had been a long week.

Eliza nodded understandingly. "It's your first week here. If you just want to unwind, that's cool, though we'll miss you."

"I really want to go." Nellie said adamantly. "It's just-" She faltered. "Could you tell me more about it?"

"Of course," Eliza said hopefully. There was still a chance. "Our band is called the Telephone Birds, and we play covers. Usually fun stuff that you can jam to." She explained to Nellie. "It's me, Luke, Adam, and our other friend George. We're kind of like a house band."

"A house band?" Nellie asked. "Like on SNL?"

"Yeah. Some of our other friends play instruments." Eliza said, gesturing with her hands. "We can have a horn section, strings, add more drums and auxiliary, Michael and Blake can be extra guitars, and everyone is good for backup singing." Eliza explained. "Any of our friends can sing lead with us, as long as they told us what we're playing ahead of time."

"Like who?" Nellie asked as she arranged a photograph on the grass. This was beginning to sound really fun.

"Abraham's going to this time, and Shanna and Blake might as well." Liza told her. "They're pretty easy going though, so I'm not worried."

"And Michael plays after you?" She was really curious about this. I mean, she'd only met the boy once.

Liza smiled and nodded. "He's been preforming ever since he was little, and he's great." She said honestly. "I mean my bias aside. But he does best when he's in the moment. And the people just love

him."

Nellie liked the way Eliza talked about Michael. She didn't really know him, but she wanted to. "It sounds amazing," Nellie said truthfully, "I'll have to talk about it with my parents."

"Alright." Eliza said with a hint of a grin.

"Hey, Eliza," Nellie had had a thought. "Why are you really not in glee club?"

Eliza looked out across the grounds thoughtfully. "To give Michael some space. I mean, I love and adore him," She glanced down at Nellie, "but most teenage boys don't want to spend every waking moment of the day with their little sister." She shrugged her shoulders and picked up a piece of charcoal. "Ever since freshman year, when our friend groups collided and combined, we've had to be around each other all the time. And he handles it well, but sometimes I think he needs an Eliza break."

Nellie thought about this. "But you don't need a break from him?"

"No, when I need a break, I need a break from everyone." Eliza replied. "But I don't have girls hanging on me and difficult math to teach to them." The bell rung and the girls hastily picked up their stuff.

Nellie looked out at the sky as she scampered inside behind Eliza. There were some very ominous, dark clouds in the sky. "Do you think it will rain?" She asked Eliza.

Liza paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder. "I think it will." She replied.

"I didn't bring my jacket today." Just her luck. "Could I get a ride?"

Liza nodded contentedly. "Sure. Oh, but wait," She said, stepping into the halls. "I'm getting a ride from Adam because we're going to practice." She looked at Nellie. "It's okay, you can still get a ride, we just need to find Michael." They continued down the hallway. "You get your stuff, I'll go find him and send him your way."

Nellie nodded and rushed down the hallway. As Eliza bobbed and weaved her way down to the math wing, she couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Nellie." Nellie pulled her head out of her lock to look at the person who called her. Michael was leaning against the lockers, jangling his keys and waiting patiently. He was wearing a navy shirt and khaki's, as well as a pair of rectangular glasses.

"Hi." She gave him a quick smile before diving back into the jumbled mess that was her locker to extract her backpack. "Thanks for giving me a ride. Your car can fit my bike, right?"

Michael nodded his head. "We'll make it work." He said casually, and then he met her gaze and smiled at her. "And you can ride with me anytime." He grimaced. That sounded like a terrible retro pick-up line. Nellie was smiling though. She shut her locker and came to stand with him. They started walking down the hall.

"How was glee practice?" Nellie asked him.

Michael was mildly surprised. "You know about that?"

"Liza said." Nellie adjusted her backpack straps. "That's where you guys all were, right?"

Michael nodded. "It was good, I suppose. Very intense because we have a competition coming up," He told her as they walked out the doors.

"Do you like it?" Nellie looked sideways at him as they reached the bike rack.

"I like the preforming aspect and I like the challenge," He looked over to her, where she was unlocking her bike. Her face was scrunched up in concentration. "But I like being with my friends most of all."

Nellie nodded wistfully and looked up at him from where she knelt on the grass, a little sad she wasn't considered a friend. She began to roll her bike in the direction of the parking lot. It was old and yellow, but she loved it.

Michael came up on her side. "Here, let me do that." He took the handlebars, his hand brushing hers. He looked at her kindly. "Speaking of which, Friday is a night with friends. Did Eliza tell you about it?"

"A little bit." Nellie said. Michael clicked his keys, and a blue station wagon flashed. He opened the truck and began to maneuver the bike inside.

"Are you going to come?" Michael asked eagerly as he shut the trunk. He then opened the passenger door and made a sweeping bow. "Your chariot awaits."

Nellie broke into a smile and colored slightly. "Thank you, sir. And I'm thinking about it." She slid into the passenger seat. Michael wandered around the front and climbed into the car.

"If you come, I promise you won't regret it." He told her as he put the key into the ignition. "And trust me, when you're friends with Charlie, you end up doing a lot of things you regret." She smiled. "We play at this restaurant downtown called The Grasshopper. It's like family-friendly diner meets snazzy, old-fashioned bar." He looked over at her with a smile. "Where do you live, by the way?"

"1708 Pennyworth Drive." Nellie told him automatically, and then inwardly gasped. She'd memorized her new address already! "Why is the restaurant called The Grasshopper?"

"You have much to learn, young grasshopper." Michael told her seriously as they stopped for traffic. Nellie laughed at him. "No, it was named after the ice cream, of course. But the owners decided to embody the insect anyway." Michael glanced over at Nellie as he turned the wheel; she was looking happier.

"Eliza didn't tell me about that." Nellie said with some amusement. "She told me about the musicians playing, including her band."

He smiled. "She's a fantastic multi-instrumentalist, much better than me. Did you know that Luke, Adam, and Liza all can play keyboards, guitar, and drums and they switch off?" He said fondly as Nellie shook her head no. "And she has this great voice."

Nellie turned and looked at him. Really looked at him. He was concentrating on the road, tapping the steering wheel with his hand. "That's what she said about you." She said finally.

Michael nodded. "Liza and I make a good team. I think she can read my mind." He smiled and Nellie smiled back. "I suppose I have more preforming experience than her, though." Michael said modestly.

"She said you'd been playing since you were little," Nellie eyed him curiously. "What's your story, Michael Weisman?"

His mouth quirked into a small smile at the question. "I got hold of a guitar and I was goner," His smile grew. "Chicago is a great place for music, and I just loved it as soon as I witnessed it. Then I started making it, and I loved the way I felt when I created it. Like I was being heard. Friends of my parents are the owners of the Grasshopper, so they let me start playing there when I was twelve." Michael shrugged his shoulders and gave her a goofy smile. "I'm just a kid who jams out with his friends on Friday nights. It would make me happy if you came and jammed along. It's dinner and a show!" He cocked his head and looked over at her hopefully.

Nellie glanced at him shyly._ How can I say no to that smile? _She thought. "I have to talk it over with my parents," She said, "But I'd love to go."

Michael grinned at her. "There will be ice cream." He bribed.

Nellie's eyes widened. "What?"

"I know I told you that the Hopper is named for its sundaes, but tomorrow we're doing something even more special." Nellie gestured for him to continue. "After the music we're going to Charlie's house, where Abraham, the others, and myself will be conducting campaigns for the best unconventional ice cream topping. But the contest is really between Abe and me."

Nellie laughed. "What is Abraham's topping of choice?"

"Licorice." Nellie and Michael shared a look before he turned back to the road.

"Interesting." She said. "You?"

"Peanut Butter." They smiled at each other. "So if you want to see how it all plays out, you'll have to come and taste for yourself. We need a tiebreaker anyway."

"Can I have a title?" Nellie asked him, some of Michael's silliness rubbing off on her. "Like "Ice Cream Executive"?"

"Of course." Michael replied, happy she agreed to come. "Nellie Veitenhiemer, Resident Ice Cream Expert."

She smiled. "Hey, are you going to be at lunch tomorrow?"

Michael eyed her, wondering why she was asking. "I was going to be tutoring, why?"

"Eliza and Charlie talked me into preforming." Nellie told him hesitantly.

"I'll definitely be there then." He smiled at her. "Christina will just have to survive the unit test without me."

Nellie smiled. She was slightly nervous about tomorrow, but for some reason the idea of having Michael there calmed her. "What do you tutor anyway?"

Michael turned onto her street. "Any type of math, but my favorite is Calculus." He parked the car on the side of the road in front of her new house and hopped out.

Nellie unbuckled her seat belt and followed him around to the back. Then she stared at him.

Michael started pulling Nellie's bike out of the trunk, concentrating hard. He glanced at Nellie and saw her stunned expression. "What?" He asked. He wondered if he'd somehow managed to get stuff on his face.

She blinked herself out of her stupor. "Do you think you could help me? I can't pay you, but this PreCalc class is farther ahead than my old class and it hasn't exactly been a picnic." She grabbed the bike's handlebars and looked at Michael anxiously.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I work for free." He told her, leaned against the car, and smiled.

"Really?" Nellie stared at him in such a way that Michael was tempted to take all of her homework for the year and do it all. She was so shocked she let go of the bike, which crashed to the ground. "Thanks, Michael!" She exclaimed as she hurriedly picked it up. It was drizzling now; Michael's shirt was getting speckled. "For the ride, for everything!" The sky grumbled loudly.

"What are friends for?" He began to make his way to the driver's side. Michael grinned and waved at Nellie, who waved back as she ran inside. He got back into the car and sighed, staring at the house. It began to rain harder; he turned the windshield wipers on as he drove away. He wished it rained every day.

** Hey Guys! Thank you a ton for the reviews, they really do make me happy, so don't stop now. Sorry for the late update, I've been busy. However, this is the longest chapter yet, I believe. I'm very happy Blake won the show, I do love him, but I'm sad it's over now. Somebody asked me if I would include other cast members like Aylin, and I do plan to, you might just have to be patient. I'm open to suggestions for the most part so feel free to give me ideas. Thanks, and I hope you liked this chap! The characters of Luke and Adam are actually based on two of my friends, one of whom has actually broken a kazoo by pouring water down it. **


	4. Chapter 4

Michael knocked on the door before leaning on it and swinging it open. He easily spotted Eliza, who was lying upside down on her bed with a book and notebook in hand.

"Hey you," He said, sticking his head into the room. It was small but festive.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Hey you back." She laid the book down on her bed and sat up. She motioned for Michael to come in, which he did.

"Any requests for the big show?" He asked as he hopped onto the bed. "Or any math you need help with?"

Eliza smiled. This was why she loved Michael, besides the fact that he was her brother. He liked to check in with her and talk about their days. And he was good at being up front about stuff. "Well, you already agreed to sing with me, and that's practically all I can ask for." She said as shifted herself over on the bed. "But I always love it when you inject some John Mayer, Ben Folds, or Motown into the set."

"Two out of three are already on the list," he told her then shook his head. "You and your affinity for Motown."

"Hey," She pointed at him sternly but with laughing eyes. "You have a Motown affinity too, you just don't like preforming it!"

"I don't think I can do it justice," He held up his hands innocently. "I'm too silly."

"You don't have to be perfect at something to enjoy it, Mike." Eliza said. "It's the thought that counts."

Michael smiled. "I am far from the perfect performer to begin with." He chuckled. "I just don't have the voice for it."

Liza shrugged. "Hey, better you than Blake." Michael nodded in agreement. Blake had a great voice, but it wasn't exactly soulful.

"Are you doing any Motown?" He nudged his sister, some curiosity in his tone.

"As a matter of fact, we are." Eliza replied simply. "With Abraham."

Michael ducked his head, grinning. "Now I want to know what song, but you're not going to tell me, are you?" He asked his sister ruefully.

"Nope. It's a surprise." She told him smugly. "Hey, how was your ride this afternoon?" Eliza asked him eagerly, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

Michael had a small smile of his own. "It was good." He said. "I think I convinced Nellie to come with us on Friday."

Eliza's eyes light up with surprise. "You got her to come? Oh, of course you did." She sighed and leaned back happily. "Thank goodness for you and your charm. If she was still on the fence I suppose I would have had to unleash Blake on her." Michael frowned slightly at Eliza's last comment. She felt him stiffen slightly beside her. "What's up?" She asked him gently.

He sighed. "Do you think Blake's better with girls than I am?" He hopped up from the couch and began pacing.

Eliza peered up at her brother. "Mike, you haven't been "with" a girl for a year and a half." She told him flatly and sat up. "I didn't think you had been paying attention."

"Of course I pay attention. You always call me observant," Michael replied quietly and continued pacing. "I was heartbroken, Liza. No guy wants to dive back into relationships if your last one didn't go so well."

"Well, you haven't exactly been outspoken about it." Eliza told him truthfully. "And no, I don't think Blake's better with girls than you are."

"Then why do they all like him?" Michael asked his sister frustrated.

"Mike, sit down. You're driving me crazy." She patted the spot on the bed next to her. Michael stopped pacing and went over by her. "Girls like both of you. Trust me, I know. Here, let me explain." She got up on her knees and put a thoughtful hand to her mouth. "Blake's like the boy next door: he's kind, sporty, cute, honest, and good-natured." Michael nodded and gestured for her to continue. "Girls like him because he's ideal boyfriend material, everything they've ever wanted."

"So what about me?" Michael asked curiously. "How do girls view me?"

"They have different views." Liza told him and wondered how she was going to explain it. "Some think you're this dark, romantic genius who can't be bothered with such unimportant things as flirting."

Michael's brow furrowed thoughtfully. "But I'm no good at being romantic. Or dark. " He stated and gave his sister a confused look.

"You and I know that, but they don't." Eliza said. "If this was the movies, you would actually be the charming best friend of heroine who catches her when she falls."

"So then why don't they see me that way?" Michael asked her, befuddled. Girls were complicated.

"Some do. I'm getting to that." Eliza said patiently. She readjusted her sitting position. "You're like a poet: A very smart guy who girls like to worship from afar."

"I'm a poet?" He asked Eliza incredulously, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, you're a poet." She smiled at his confusion. "Some girls think they don't have a chance with you, because you haven't dated anybody in a long time."

"Not dating anybody makes me a poet?" Michael was struggling to understand her logic. This wasn't calculus.

Eliza sighed. "Girls who actually know you think you are an adorable, charming dork, which is much more realistic." She elbowed her brother jokingly.

"That does sound more like me." He smiled at his sister before getting serious once more. "Would you really have released Blake on Nellie if she hadn't agreed to come?"

"Of course not." Eliza gazed steadily at Michael. "Who do you think I am? I'd be super selfish and evil if I deliberately sent people to convince Nellie to come with us when it's her first week away from home. She deserves to do what she wants. And honestly, if you couldn't convince her then no one could. You are the king of charm."

Michael half-smiled, but his eyes were still serious. "Does she think I'm a poet?"

Liza let out a laugh. "She might a little, because she doesn't really know you yet. But you can always change that."

Michael fluffed his little sister's hair. "It's really awesome how smart you are."

"Hey, I get it from you." She replied and began to muss up Michael's hair.

"Thanks, sis." Michael said, bowing as he got up from the bed.

"You're welcome, Mike." She smiled at him.

"You're still the only person allowed to actually call me that." Michael shouted tiredly from the doorway.

"Goodnight, Mike." She replied cheerfully.

"Goodnight, Lizzie." He replied grinning and shut the door before she could respond. He was the only person allowed to call_ her_ that.

Michael paused in the hallway. An idea had just flown into his mind. He smiled and shook his curly head, then went off to find his guitar.

"Blake! Happy Friday, my friend." Abraham came up on his friend and slapped his back.

Blake, looking weary but satisfied in his letterman jacket, grinned tiredly at his buddy. "Hey, man." He replied, slinging his backpack over his shoulders. "Aren't you chipper this morning."

"Of course I'm chipper!" Abraham proclaimed. "It's Friday, which, as you know, is the greatest of days. After Saturday, of course."

Blake continued to smile and hid a chuckle. "I didn't know that, actually." He told Abraham, who couldn't help but break into a genuine smile. "So where are we going?" Blake asked him. There was still a lot of time before class started. But he was here early quite often because of the football workout schedule.

"My plan is to spread the Friday spirit to all of our various friends, so we will walk until we stumble upon them." Abraham replied as they walked down an empty hall. "How was practice?"

"It was as good as practice can be," He said, trying to disguise the tiredness in his voice. Their last away game was tomorrow. He pulled out an apple from the pocket of his jacket and began to chomp on it as they rounded the corner.

"Where did the apple come from?" Abraham asked.

"My pocket." Blake mumbled, his mouth full of Honey Crisp.

Abraham rolled his eyes. "Yes, I got that. I meant where did you obtain it?" Morning hallway roaming called for nourishment.

Blake swallowed. "I came prepared with it," He tossed it up and down. "Breakfast. But it was discounted. One of the many perks of working at Green n' Go."

"Maybe I will apply then," Abraham muttered as they entered the main hallway. "Look! I see Nellie!"

Blake looked. Sure enough, the new girl was sitting against the wall, reading something while swigging from a milk carton. He smiled. "I think she'll have fun if she comes with us tonight. Don't you?"

Abraham nodded. "Absolutely. Hey, Nellie!" He yelled across to her as they jogged over.

"Oh. Hi guys." She gazed up at them in a fog. "Do you want to join me? Oh, I suppose we should move." Abraham helped her up and they headed to a nearby bench.

"Happy Friday, Nellie!" Abraham told her as they sat. Blake stayed standing, but slumped against the wall.

"Happy Friday, Abraham." Nellie replied smiling. "Did you pass the Chem test?"

"With flying colors." He rejoiced and high-fived his friends. "So, are you coming with us tonight?"

"We're preforming," Blake added with a smile.

"So you know it's going to be a good show." Abraham finished.

Nellie smiled at them. "Yes, I think I'm coming." This was met with victory cries from the boys.

"Alright!" Blake grinned and pumped his fist. Abraham put his arm around Nellie's shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

"And I'm also going to be preforming." Nellie said with a sly smile once she could actually breathe again.

"Incoming!" a voice yelled a little ways off. Two seconds later someone crashed into the bench and into Abraham, followed by two others. "Ouch." It was Luke. He stood up and dusted himself off. "Sorry, man, Jack greased my shoes during practice so I've been sliding everywhere." He told Abraham and sat down next to him.

"Hey everybody." Eliza greeted, Adam in tow.

"Hey Blake, Nellie." He said, and then sat on the bench as well. "Abraham, my awesome-haired fellow!" Abraham bro-hugged him.

"What's this about Nellie preforming?" Blake asked Eliza as she came to stand by him.

"It was all Charlie's doing." Eliza said, raising her hands in innocence. "You want to explain, Nellie?"

"Charlie serenated me at lunch, and as payment I agreed to sing at lunch today as long as I didn't have to in the lunchroom." She explained knowingly. She'd practiced and had her guitar waiting for her in the school's office.

"Oh! An exclusive Nellie Vietenhiemer performance!" Abraham said excitedly. "And all because Charlie sang to you. You're so sweet, Cocoa Puffs!"

Nellie giggled. "Cocoa Puffs?" Adam asked the laughing friends with raised eyebrows.

"We all have a cereal to match our personalities. Long story." Eliza told him smiling. "If you were a cereal what would you be, Adam?"

He grinned and crossed his arms smugly. "Golden Grahams, cause I'm the golden boy." Eliza, Abraham, and Blake exchanged looks.

"Your cereal of choice, Luke?" Abraham nudged the boy on his right.

"Oh, uh, the one that has the little cookies." He said thoughtfully, tapping his foot. "Cookie Crisp!" He and Nellie yelled in unison. They high-fived. "Are you coming to the show, Nellie?" He asked curiously.

"If everything goes as planned," Again, there was much rejoicing.

Blake looked up at the clock. "Guys, we have three minutes." He said quickly and straightened up.

"We'd better get going then." Abraham jumped to his feet and grabbed his stuff. "Later, cereal!"

They laughed as they got moving. Eliza went with Luke down the math hallway, Adam ran after Abraham, and Nellie and Blake moved towards the Science and English departments. Blake turned into Science, giving her a solute-like wave and a totally sweet smile. She smiled and trotted into the English wing.

Nellie slunk into the cafeteria, guitar slung over her back. She came in the back way to draw the least amount of attention possible, but that didn't seem to be working. Pairs of eyes turned in her direction repeatedly, boring into her. They knew that Blake and Michael sometimes brought along guitars with them, but not that this new girl did.

Eliza's watchful eyes were the first friendly ones to spot her. A smiled spread slowly across her face and as she wiggled her eyebrows at Nellie and then nudged Abraham. Once he saw her he began to call her name, Charlie started cheering and Blake and Shanna quickly joined him. Michael, who had been in deep thought until his friends started yelling, looked over at the blushing Nellie and broke into a grin. He began to cheer too.

Nellie was super embarrassed, but also very flattered at all of the cheers. They didn't even know what she sounded like, and they were already happy. She ducked her dark, braided head as she scurried over to the table. She gave them a cute curtsey and a quick smile before ducking under Shanna to hide her guitar under the table. By the time she reappeared the cheering had subsided. She went and sat between Eliza and Abraham.

"So Nellie," Abraham said conversationally as he took a bite of pasta. "Are you ready for your world premiere? Or at least your Midwest premiere?"

Nellie tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and smiled. "It's hardly a world premiere," she told him dismissively, "but I'm ready and excited." Despite some nerves, Nellie really was ready. If there was anything she loved, it was preforming.

"How about tonight?" Charlie asked, attempting to eat the school's mac and cheese with chopsticks. "Are you excited about that?"

Nellie began to sort through her lunch, pulling out her BLT (bean, lettuce, and turkey) and laying it on the table. "Just endlessly, Charles." She replied teasingly but actually. "Especially for the ice cream." He beamed at her.

"Speaking of tonight," Shanna said, as businesslike as possible when you have doll eyes and a sweet southern accent, "We invited Ali and Aylin to come with."

"We were talking with them and thought it would be fun to invite them along." Blake added, drumming on the table.

"Is that okay, Michael?" Shanna asked him carefully. "It's your show after all."

"Wait, who are Aylin and Ali?" Nellie asked frowning thoughtfully.

Michael turned to her. "They're two of our friends from glee," he explained, then looked back at Shanna. "Shan, it's not my show, and of course it's alright for them to come." He sighed and leaned back, giving them a lopsided grin. "The more the merrier, right?"

"Here, here!" Charlie shouted. "I don't know either of these girls, Liza." He told her as he thought of her suggestion to meet more girls. She patted his shoulder proudly.

Nellie's phone buzzed, making the table vibrate. It was a text:

_Nell, your father and I think it's great that you want to hang out with your new friends! But we have a work party, so you'll need a ride._

Nellie looked up at everybody. "The Grasshopper is officially a go!" Cheers once more. "But," Michael's face, which had been smiling pleasantly, faded once he realized there was a 'but'. "I'll need a ride."

The second smile that appeared on Michael's face was possibly more dazzling than the first. "We can take you." He said, glancing at his sister for reference, and then returning his smile to Nellie. She let out a small giggle, partially because she realized that she sort of had an inside joke with Michael, partially because he was just plain adorable. Eliza and Shanna exchanged looks.

"Okay, thanks." Nellie replied, adjusting her jacket. Today she wore a flannel shirt, jeans, an old leather jacket and boots that could rival Eliza's. Her hair was braided because of the usual Chicago wind.

Everyone dove into their lunches, telling stories and having sing-offs, all the while calling each other cereal. Blake attempted to juggle, Liza and Abraham developed German accents, and Michael tried to answer anything anyone said to him Jeopardy-style. It was business as usual.

Then they realized it was almost time for Nellie to sing, so they tried to rein it in.

"Guys, if we want to see Nellie preform we should head outside, well, now." Eliza interrupted, glancing at her watch. Nellie immediately shot under the table to get her guitar while everyone else packed up. They filed out the campus doors, being led by Liza and Blake.

"Here, dance the jitters out," Charlie had stopped and fallen in step with Nellie, who seemed fidgety and nervous. She weakly smiled at Charlie's idea and the two of them began to shake out every part of their bodies as they passed by the evergreens.

Shanna let out a peel of laughter. She was walking in front of Nellie and Charlie, talking with Michael. She touched his arm, he shrugged his shoulders sheepishly and shot her a grin. Shanna laughed again, her head thrown back. That time she noticed Nellie and Charlie wiggling and jiggling. She beamed at them and gave Nellie an encouraging wink. Michael was lost on all of this, even though he could be incredibly observant at times. He was off in his own world; he walked into Abraham when they'd halted.

They were in a shady area closer to the bluff than the school, but it was still in view. The area was out of way, and Nellie liked it. The only thing better than preforming was preforming outside, with the wind rustling the multi-colored leaves. Because the day was overcast and blustery no one was sitting or eating outside. The clearing held but one bench, facing the trees.

Charlie ushered Nellie to it, pulling her by her elbow. "Your stage." Nellie shot him a quick smile and took a deep breath. She watched her friends settle down and spread out on the grass in front of her, not afraid of the dirt or mud they might get on them. Blake and Shanna were sitting up to the front-right of her, Shanna shivering in her thin cardigan. Blake put his arm around her.

Eliza and Abe were sitting farther back, their legs stretched out. Charlie was sprawled out directly behind them, his head popping up in between them every now and then. He seemed completely willing to risk his emerald green pants for the sake of Nellie's performance.

Right of him, Michael leaned against the base of a tree with incredible deep purple leaves. One of his legs was bent with an arm resting on it, his head bent forward, watching her watch them. He gave her the tiniest hint of a smile before nudging Blake's back with his foot.

"So Nell," Eliza said, her head tilted to the side. "What song have you chosen to play for us?" Shanna sat forward eagerly.

"Well," Nellie began, considering. "It's a song that suits how I'm feeling right now, with all of the changes going on in my life and mixed emotions. And it sounds great acoustic." She gazed into all of their encouraging faces and felt most of her nerves wash away.

"We can't wait!" Shanna said excitedly, tapping her knees vigorously.

Nellie smiled a little smile before adjusting her position on the bench and pulling out her guitar. When unpacking her CD collection last night she'd found the perfect song. She took another breath and began to strum.

_I wish I were pretty_

_I wish I were brave_

_If I owned this city_

_Then I'd make it behave_

Nellie sang in her soulful voice, the last line with a teeny smile directed at Eliza.

_And if I were fearless_

_Then I'd speak my truth_

_And the world would hear this_

_That's what I wish I'd do, yeah_

She hummed as she dove into the passion of the music.

_If my hands could hold them you'd see_

_I'd take all these secrets in me_

_And I'd move and mold them to be_

_Something I'd set free_

Nellie glanced up to gauge everyone's reactions. Though Shanna was still stealing Blake's body heat, she watched Nellie with intent eyes. She wasn't smiling, but her expression was one of joy. On the other hand, Blake had been smiling broadly ever since the first note of the song had left Nellie's mouth.

_I want to darken in the skies_

_Open the floodgates up_

_I want to change my mind_

_I want to be enough_

_I want the water in my eyes_

_I want to cry until the end of time_

_I want to let the rain come down_

_Make a brand new ground_

_Let the rain come down_

_Let the rain come down_

_Make a brand new ground_

_Let the rain come down tonight_

Abraham was sitting cross-legged, his elbows on his knees. He was alternating between looking amazed and grinning widely. He repeatedly hit Eliza's knee whenever Nellie did something he especially liked.

_I hold on to worry so tight_

_It's safe in here right next to my heart_

_Who now shouts at the top of her voice_

_Let me go, let me out, this is not my choice_

Eliza, who was also sitting cross-legged, held a hand to cover her smiling mouth. She waved Abraham's excited leg slaps away, barely taking time to glance at him. She just watched Nellie and nodded along with the beat.

_And I always felt it before_

_That the world was filled with much more_

_Than the drowning soul I've learned to be_

_I just need the rain to remind me_

Charlie had shifted his position so he could see Nellie, which he could now. He stared at her with a mind-blown face and hypnotized eyes. Man, she was good.

_I want to darken in the skies_

_Open the floodgates up_

_I want to change my mind_

_I want to be enough_

_I want the water in my eyes_

_I want to cry until the end of time_

Nellie was fully lost in the music now, her eyes shut tight.

_I want to let the rain come down_

_Make a brand new ground_

_Let the rain come down_

_Let the rain come down_

_Make a brand new ground_

_Let the rain come down_

Eliza peeked over her shoulder for a look at her brother. He didn't even notice her. He was sitting forward, arms wrapped around his knees and his eyes bright with fascination. His head moved slightly with the music. His mouth had an enraptured slight smile on it, growing and fading with the climatic points of the song. Liza smiled to herself and turned back to the wonderful Nellie.

_I want to let the rain come down_

_Make a brand new ground_

_Let the rain come down_

_Let the rain come down_

_Make a brand new ground_

_Let the rain come down_

_I want to let the rain come down_

_Make a brand new ground_

_Let the rain come down_

_Let the rain come down_

_Make a brand new ground_

_Let the rain come down tonight_

Nellie finished and finally lifted her eyes to her spread out friends. There was a moment of pure silence, and Nellie almost thought she'd messed up big time, when there was an eruption of cheers.

"Nellie, that was unbelievably fantastic." Blake said breathlessly and let out a low whistle.

Shanna, grinning from ear to ear, crawled over to Nellie and grabbed her shoulders. "Holy Fudgewuck, girl!" She yelled as she hugged Nellie. "We have got to get you in glee."

Charlie flopped his way over, still staring at Nellie. "I'm in awe." His goofy smile returned, but he still looked dazed. "Seriously. Not only has my jaw dropped to the ground, it is now digging its way to China." Nellie laughed and blushed as the other piled around her.

Eliza and Michael were both shaking their heads in amazement. Liza caught a look at Michael's still enraptured face and wrapped an arm around him to pull him over. "Wonderful, Nell. Just wonderful." She hugged Nellie too and began to dance with Shanna and Charles.

"Oh. Thanks everybody." Nellie said, embarrassed at all of the praise. "I don't think I was that good."

"No, she's right." Michael came closer and got pulled into the group hug by his sister. "You're the cherry on top of our preforming Grasshopper sundae." He told her with his goofy charm and a genuine smile. He looked as if he was going to say something else when Abraham wandered in front of him.

"So. Freaking. Amazing." He told Nellie grinning. "You chose the best artist to cover. Sara Bareilles is an idol of mine. Can I have the honor of escorting you back?" He offered his arm. Nellie smiled at him and instead of taking it cheekily gave him the guitar case. He held it gladly as she packed up and the two of them headed inside after their group of rambunctious friends.

**Hello Faithful Readers!**

** I love all of you have kept reading even though I am an unfaithful updater. But my life has been crazy and at one point I lost the flash drive that held this story (I found it, don't worry). So thank you for reading. The next chapter should be the biggest and most eventful yet! If anyone has any suggestions about formatting, songs, or plot ideas please send me a message. The song that was featured in this chapter was Let the Rain by Sara Bareilles. Question: Shake or Blali? Last but not least, please review! I light up anytime I read them! Thanks again guys! **


	5. Chapter 5

Nellie was in her room gazing at her jewelry box, trying to decide what pair of earrings to wear. She'd asked Shanna earlier what she should wear to the Grasshopper, to which the blonde girl answered easily.

Shanna had explained it to Nellie as the two left the school that afternoon. "There's no dress code," Shanna told her as she ran her fingers through her long hair, "But we like to spruce ourselves up a little. Not anything outlandish, just the sort of stuff you'd wear on a date."

Because of this, Nellie was now clad in a short sleeved, royal blue dress with purple, green, and indigo waves on it, tights, and flats. She decided on a pair of iridescent teardrop earrings that she had received for her last birthday. But she still felt incomplete.

There was a chipper, shave-and-a-haircut knock at the door. "Mom, I'm not ready yet!" She yelled through the door.

"It's me." A familiar voice replied. Nellie went to the door and swung it open. There stood Eliza, rocking forward on her toes and examining the hallway.

"Hey, Nellie. Your mom let me in. Wow, you look great." She stepped into her friend's room. It was pretty sparse; there was furniture and clothes in the closet and boxes, but not much else.

"Thanks. You do too." Nellie wandered in after her. Liza was wearing a short-sleeved sweater dress that was blue, black and white striped and had a dropped waist. This was topped off with black tights, the usual stylish boots, and a double-breasted blazer. "I feel like my outfit's missing something, though."

"Hmm." Liza moved over to the stack of accessories on Nellie's desk. "You took your braid out, didn't you? Well, I think you could either re-braid it or put a headband in. How 'bout this?" She pulled out a 3-strand headband that was purple.

"Here, let's see." Nellie put it in her hair, and was immediately pleased with the results. "I like it."

Eliza smiled. "I'm glad."

Nellie lead the way out of her room, grabbing her jacket and bag on the way. She called a goodbye to her mother, who was sitting in the kitchen doing a crossword as she waited for Nellie's dad to come pick her up for the party. She shouted an enthusiastic "Have fun! Nice to meet you, Eliza!" as they walked out into the cold night air.

Eliza shouted back, "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. V!" There was the station wagon, engine humming and headlights cutting through the mist. Inside Michael and Charlie were rocking out in the front seat, and blasting not rap, but Springsteen. Eliza opened the door to the backseat and they crawled in, single file.

"Nellie! Welcome!" Charlie bellowed over the music as they got settled.

Eliza whipped her seat belt across herself and buckled it. "Hit it, Mike!" Michael, still belting and drumming on the steering wheel, backed out of the driveway and put the pedal to the metal.

Charlie was screaming along to the music so loudly that you couldn't even hear Michael, much to Nellie's disappointment. "How come Liza can call you that and I can't?' He asked Michael when the Boss had finished.

Michael turned the volume knob down and glanced back at the girls in the rear view mirror with a slight smirk. "Because Eliza's called me that since before she could walk. She says it out of love, whereas you would say it for the sake of annoying me."

"If I said it out of love it would be weird, man." Charlie argued, making Nellie crack up in the backseat.

Michael concentrated on the road. "Charlie, I'd hoped that it wouldn't come to this and that you would just respect my choice of name, but you just couldn't leave it alone. So now, if I ever hear you call me Mike, I will respond by addressing you by your middle name." He said calmly.

Charlie gasped in horror. "You wouldn't!"

"Why is that bad?" Nellie asked, amusement in her tone.

Eliza smiled mischievously. "Nobody knows Charlie's middle name. He thinks it's cursed." Nellie giggled while Charlie pouted.

"Except one night when he'd been up for 36 hours straight and hopped up on Mountain Dew, he mentioned it to me, and I, being the honorable man I am agreed never to speak of it. Unless he crossed a line." Michael continued, eyeing Charlie.

"Okay, _**Michael**_**,** you win." Charlie got out a napkin from the glove compartment and waved it around like a white flag. "I surrender."

"Thank you. Now put that thing down, I need to see the road."

They turned left off into a side street and then into a parking lot at the back alleyway. The boys climbed out of the front seat and the girls crawled out of the back. Eliza helped Nellie to her feet.

"Come on," Michael waved to her as she followed him through the parking lot, a back entrance, and down a beige hallway. They walked through a pair of black double doors with a sign reading "The Grasshopper" on it and entered the restaurant.

Nellie paused to look around. The place managed to be both modern and earthy, with the tables made out of wood and the walls being painted a warm dark brown. The over-hanging lights, booths, and old-fashioned bar stools were all a bright Kelly green. There was a bar by what looked like the front entrance with a grand chandelier hanging over it and a little stage in the alcove opposite the bar with sound equipment and a drum set.

The place was buzzing; there were families with children in highchairs and couples holding hands across tables. Eliza and Charlie rushed over to a booth that contained Luke, Adam, and what appeared to be the other Birds. Luke had a fork, spoon, and knife in between his fingers wolverine-style, but wasn't very threatening. Nellie was about to follow them, but Michael put a hand on her arm and gently began to pull her away.

"Come on," he tilted his head encouragingly at her before turning around to face the way they were walking. "I brought you in the back way on your first visit to the Hopper, which was nuts. To fully experience it," he said with a sneaky smile, "you need to see the front." He continued to drag her around the bar, past their friends, and past the overeager waitress headed their way.

The front of the restaurant was mostly giant windows looking out onto the busy street. They walked out of the main doors, and Nellie immediately gasped at the chilly wind blowing through her veins. The second thing she registered was the tightly packed street full of cars that weren't going anywhere. It was rush hour on a Friday; there was a lot of honking and vulgarity coming from the windows.

"I see why you took the back way," She muttered to Michael as she spun around to face the restaurant. "Wow." She stood starring up at the building, trying to take it all in.

The front of the restaurant was black and super tall, but the huge windows shed some light on the subject. Every window had small, Christmas-style bulbs lining their borders. But the most fantastic part was above it all. Above the windows there was a neon sign that read "The Grasshopper" in green cursive and surrounded by costume bulbs.

"Lovely, isn't she?" Michael said quietly, watching Nellie gaze up at the building.

"Yeah. She's a beauty." Nellie told him as she finished her inspection.

"You wanna go experience some deliciousness?" Michael asked her.

Nellie smiled shyly at him. "Of course." They wandered back into the restaurant where their friends were dining. Nellie pulled up a stool at the bar next to Charlie and Blake, for the bar wasn't serving actual liquor yet. "Hey Blake! Charles," she said as she placed herself on a stool and spun around.

"Hey, Nellie!" Charlie said hello to Nellie.

"Hey Nellie," Blake greeted in his melodic low voice. "Do you think I'd be a good break-dancer?"

Nellie smiled and giggled. "Um, yeah, if you practiced. Why, is this a possible career choice?"

Blake smiled. "I don't know, I've just always wanted to try it. Eliza's the only one who has expertize though. Liza!" he called her over. She was busy chatting with Shanna.

"Yeah, Blake?" She asked as she strode over to them with a smile. She could just feel the silliness coming on.

"Would I be a good break-dancer?" Eliza laughed, and her eyes crinkled and her nose scrunched up.

"Well," She gathered her thoughts, "You have the physical strength, are reasonably coordinated, and have rhythm, so I'd say yes. I have faith in you, Blake." She patted his shoulder.

"You break dance?" Nellie asked Eliza, wide-eyed. "Blake said you had expertise."

Eliza looked at Blake, who shook his head ruefully. "No, I don't break dance. I do a lot of regular dancing, though." She told Nellie before waving at the group of guys pigging out on a ginormous pile of cheese fries. "Guys! We should set up now! Luke, adjust the set. Adam-"

"Get the guitars and tune them. I know, lady." Adam finished for her as he grabbed a chunk of cheese fries and threw it into his mouth, bowed to Liza, and ran off towards the back.

Eliza smiled as he ran away then raised her voice again. "George, come over here." A calmer-looking, slim boy got up from the booth and walked over to them. He had a mop of dark hair, blue eyes, freckles, and a tasteful outfit consisting of a red Adidas sports jacket, an orange printed t-shirt, gray pants, and bright blue running shoes. "Nellie, this is George, our greatly-relaxed bassist. George, Nellie."

George gave a smile to Nellie and shook her hand. "Hey."

Blake said excitedly, "George, you're a dancer. Do you know how to breakdance?"

George half-smiled and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I know some stuff."

Blake's eyebrows shot up and he grinned. "Seriously? Man, I could totally use your help."

At this point Adam ran up, guitar in each hand, and threw one to George. "Help with what?" He asked curiously.

"Becoming a better dancer." Blake answered.

"Oh, you too? I'm recruiting George and Eliza to help me achieve my dream of becoming Michael Jackson." He started moonwalking away towards the back, and George shrugged and began to robot after him. It looked a little awkward because they were both carrying guitars. _"You're a vegetable, you're a vegetable. They hate you, you're a vegetable."_ Adam sang back to Eliza as they moved out of range. It didn't sound half bad.

Eliza grinned after them. "Under normal circumstances I would follow them, but I need to do something first. Has anyone seen my brother?"

Shanna wandered around to Eliza's side. "Yeah, he went to get his guitar." She was wearing a slouchy, thin white sweater over a peach-colored full skirt, grey tights, and lace-up boot wedges.

"Oh okay, thanks Shan. Charlie and Nellie, come with me. I'm going to introduce you two to Ali and Aylin." Eliza looked Charlie over as he brushed crumbs off himself.

"How do I look?" He asked the girls.

"You appear to actually look normal." Eliza stated surprise evident in her voice.

"I'm impressed with myself. Now, are we going to go?" Charlie asked Eliza, his voice cracking and his eyes wavering. Eliza nodded and they began walking towards a side of the restaurant.

Nellie gently rubbed his arm. "You'll be fine, Charlie. Being nervous isn't like you. Just be yourself."

"Yeah, okay. I can do this." He squared his shoulders and got a reassuring smile from Eliza. "I am Charles!" Nellie smiled at him.

"Aylin!" Eliza shouted, getting the attention of a girl pushing another girl in a wheelchair. She had beautiful long, brown with a hint of red wavy hair and clear Middle Eastern skin. Charlie gasped next to Nellie as the girl broke into a smile and hurried toward Eliza.

"Liza! I can't wait for the performance!" She exclaimed as she happy-danced and hugged Eliza. She was wearing a turquoise dress with a zipper in the front, a black leather jacket over it, boots, and pearl-like studs in her ears.

The girl in the wheelchair rolled toward them, a gigantic smile on her face. "Hey guys! Thanks for having us, Liza!" She said as Eliza hugged her, too. This girl was very pretty with long blond hair and a bright smile. She was wearing a green flowered skirt and white jacket for warmth.

"Who are these fine looking people?" Aylin asked with a kind grin.

"This is Nellie, who is new here, and Charlie, whom I'm sure you've heard about." Eliza said, gesturing to her two friends.

Charlie bowed to Ali and they said hello, then Ali rolled towards Nellie. The two girls began to talk animatedly about music and glee and clothes, meanwhile Charlie moved towards Aylin.

"Nice to meet you finally." She said as they shook hands. "You know, I saw you singing in the cafeteria the other day."

Charlie smiled an apprehensive smile. "And how was it? I hope my reputation doesn't precede me."

Aylin broke out into a mischievous smile. "It was great. I have a feeling your voice was made to croon."

Charlie grinned and then on impulse grabbed her hand and delicately kissed it. "It's nice to meet you too, then." Aylin smiled and blushed softly. "So you're in glee, correct?" Charlie asked her.

"Yes." Aylin replied with a curious look on her face. She wondered what he was getting at.

"Do you think I should rejoin?"

"You were in it before?" Aylin asked as they moved towards one of the giant corner booths that was filled with their friends.

There they continued to chat with the other people in booth who were Abraham, Shanna, Eliza, Ali. Blake and Nellie were on stools close by. At the arrival of Charlie and Aylin they all began to rearrange themselves to make room for them. Abraham toppled over onto Shanna, who was scooting it make room. "Abe!" She yelled before she collapsed in giggles.

Blake and Charlie eyed each other at the same time. They locked eyes, then they both scrambled towards the booth. Blake literally jumped over on side of it and landed on Abraham. Charlie, one hand on the table and the other on the back of the booth, swung himself over Ali and crashed into Eliza. It was no longer a booth, it was a dog pile.

"Nellie, come join us!" Eliza yelled from the center of the booth. Shanna was partially draped across her, partially across Blake. Ali was between Blake and Charlie, somewhat sprawled on both of them. Abraham was next to Eliza and was waving at Nellie to come sit next to him.

"Come on in, Aylin!" Shanna called to her friend.

Aylin broke out into a smile. "Hell, yeah!" She yelled as she threw her purse under the table and full on dove on top of Charlie.

They all began to call and cajole Nellie to join them. She eventually decided that she should go with the flow, shrugged, took off her jacket, and flew at Abraham. "Yeah!" Everyone cheered, all squished and crammed into the booth. Nellie began to crawl into a more comfortable position while Charlie was staring at Aylin with adoring eyes. The group as a whole was receiving some weird looks.

"Hey the band needs you-" Michael ran up to the booth planning to get the ever-behaved Eliza, but stopped short when he saw them. "Oh. Hey everybody. I guess this is what happens when I leave."

"Mike, join us!" Eliza shouted at her brother. He hesitated for a second, then dropped to the floor and army crawled under the table. "Mike?" Eliza glanced down at the table.

Suddenly he popped up from the floor, purse in hand. "I was getting your camera." He told Eliza as he fished out her red Canon from the depths of her bag. Then he crawled in by Nellie and began pushing buttons. "Ready, everyone? Five second countdown, starting now." He set the camera in the middle of the table while everybody counted down and posed.

"3, 2, 1!" They all smiled with all their might and the flash went off.

Eliza got up and dusted herself off. "Thanks, Michael. You said the band needed me?" She asked him as he returned her camera to her.

"Yeah, they wanted to warm up and stuff." He told her. "Did you get anything to eat?"

"No, but it's fine. I'll just get something later." She looked back to the stage, then to the booth, then back at her brother. "I guess I should be getting back there, then."

Michael nodded. "Okay. Hey, good luck."

She smiled. "Thanks, bro. You too." She impulsively gave him a hug then ran off towards the stage.

Michael sat back down at the booth. "Well, I guess we should get some food in ourselves." His diagnosis was met with cries of happiness and agreement. He waved down a waiter, who gave them all menus and a friendly smile. Conversation resumed and there was a feeling of jolliness in the air.

Nellies smiled as she peered at the menu and listened to Shanna recommend things to her. "Thanks for inviting me, guys."

**Hello all! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in forever, it was a combination of writer's block and the craziness of my life. I'm also sorry because I know I said this would be the longest and most exciting chapter yet, but it went in a different direction than I planned and I decided to split it in half. Either way, a big thank you to all who are still reading faithfully and I hope you enjoy! P. S. I love Blake as Ryder on glee!**


	6. Chapter 6

Nellie was trying her best not to trip as she walked with two baskets full of delicious hot food that she hadn't gotten a chance yet to touch and a gigantic tall glass with no top. Their food had come, but moments after The Birds had walked up on stage and begun adjusting mikes.

Appropriately, the Hopper was hopping. Nearly every table was full and chatter echoed throughout the restaurant.

"Shit." Abraham cursed under his breath once he realized. "We're too far away to watch properly."

Ali eyed the stage from her spot in the booth and surveyed the tables in between them. There were only a few small two-person tables open. "I don't think we'd be appreciated if we went and filled five small tables that could be filled with new customers." She said thoughtfully.

"Nonsense, Al." Aylin said. "We are customers."

Michael, who had been listening to all of this carefully, jumped out of the end of the booth. "We'll work this out." He began to help Nellie out, too. "Here, I have an idea." Nellie slid out, and Michael went over and picked up Ali and set her in her chair. "Blake." He waved to his best friend, who was just stumbling out of the booth, and they quickly ran off.

"Here, I'll tell Eliza to wait." Shanna said and dashed off towards the stage.

Michael and Blake returned, this time with a pretty waitress with blonde highlighted hair chopped off at her chin. She had with her a tray. She and Michael continued towards them while Blake moved in the direction of Shanna, and the two of them talked then ran off in opposite directions.

Michael and the waitress reached them. Her nametag read "Christina". "Christina has agreed to move us to a joint table farther ahead that Blake and Shanna are putting together," Michael told the group, "but we can't be a disturbance, understood?" He looked at Charlie and Aylin, the first looked away sheepishly and the second pretending to be innocent. "Okay, move your food!"

With that the gang had picked up their assorted dishes and began to move in the general direction of Blake of Shanna. Christina helped by moving things on her tray.

Presently, Nellie managed to avoid bumping into a very focused waiter with a sudden veer to the right. Five more steps and she found herself at the new table. She set her food down next to Abraham, the only one there, and dropped into a chair.

"You okay, Cocoa Puffs?" He asked her, for she looked extremely worn out.

Nellie smiled a bit wearily in response. "Who knew it took so much work to eat out in Chicago? In Washington they have this crazy policy where the customers actually sit down and wait for the waiters to bring them their food." She told him with an eye roll. Abraham laughed at her and was glad to know that she was okay.

Shanna pulled up a chair across from Nellie. "Well, welcome Nellie! I hate to say it, but it's always this crazy." She then picked up her spoon and began devouring her soup. She actually slurped it. She had a side salad too, but she paid no attention to it.

"Wow." Nellie laughed and grinned before turning to her own food hungrily. In the end it was Blake's smart food sense and her own preferences that had led her to order the Casbah Club Sandwich with a side of waffle fries and a pickle. For her drink she had listened to Shanna and Abraham and had gotten ginger lemonade. Both her sandwich and drink were mammoth-sized.

"You know Shan, when people have a main course and a side salad they usually eat the salad first." Abraham told her teasingly (she didn't even look up) while Nellie was still studying her sandwich and trying to figure the best way to pick it up. It resembled a stack of vegetables and grilled meat in between three inch thick slices of bread. The thing was bigger than her Pre-Calc textbook.

Michael came up to the table followed by Christina and took the drinks off her tray and began passing them around. "Thanks, Christina." He told the waitress, who nodded and left them. He sat next to Nellie and smiled when he noticed Shanna gulping down her soup. "Shan loves the Grasshopper because it's one of the few places where she can get authentic gumbo." He said to Nellie.

Blake appeared, pushing Ali. He parked her next to Shanna where she began to unload the food she had been carrying on her lap. She could carry more with both her lap and arms. "Blake, this is yours. Michael, here you go." She said as she passed them their food. Blake sat down next to Michael.

Aylin scrambled into the seat on Shanna's other side. "Hey all. Enjoying yourself, Shan?" She joked, elbowing the other girl gently in the arm.

Shanna swallowed, delicately wiped her mouth, and beamed. "Of course! I always enjoy myself." She glanced around. "Where's Charlie?"

Aylin chucked. "He had to make two trips because of all the food he ordered."

Just then, the man himself arrived and lowered into the chair next to Abe after setting down his armfuls of food. "Greetings." He said and completely ignored the eyebrows that were being raised at his behavior as he began to sort his baskets of food.

"Charlie." Abraham said quietly.

"What?" He looked up.

"What the heck did you order?"

"The finest food the Grasshopper has to offer, of course." He replied as he moved a plate to the left. To Aylin he murmured, "You'll soon find out that I am a man of very good taste."

She laughed and ran her fingers through her hair. Shanna looked at her incredulously. "No comment."Aylin said quickly.

"So Abe, to answer your question, I ordered some fried sesame chicken sliders for a light appetizer, the Hopping Chef Sandwich, the fanciest burger you will ever see, wrapped in fresh lettuce for its thematic green color and health benefits," he gestured to the noticeable green around the restaurant, "and the magnificent Grilled Cheese Caprese with five exquisite artisanal cheeses, sun-dried tomatoes, and a layer of spinach, all toasted on Asiago." Charlie finished and sighed happily before taking a dramatic sip of his iced tea.

Abraham's eyes were as wide as donuts, and he shook his head vigorously. "I have no idea how I should respond to that. Let's go with: you're an idiot who tries to be both a wild kid and a wise man and ends up being neither." Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Careful there Abe, you're sounding a little too much like Eliza's evil twin." Blake said with a smile.

"What's Eliza doing?" Nellie asked to no one in particular. Eliza was off to one side of the stage and appeared to be messing with a power box.

"What? Oh, she's turning on the lights." Michael answered after swallowing a bite of his BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger.

"What lights?" Ali asked, looking over her shoulder.

"You'll see." Blake told the newbies. They all watched the stage.

With a blink, stings of lanterns over the stage turned on and shone. They cast a warm, rosy glow over the stage. Some of the strands had just a yellow-orange glow coming from them, while others were multiple colors.

"Oh, they're starting!" Shanna whispered and turned around in her chair.

Sure enough, Eliza walked over to the mike and began to talk.

"Hello, everybody. My name is Eliza, and our band, the Telephone Birds, will be your musical entertainment tonight." She grinned out at the crowd. "I hope you enjoy." She walked over to the guitar stands, picked up a dark green electric one, strapped it around herself, and came back towards the mike.

Behind her, George was making chords on his bass but not actually strumming, Luke was looking anxiously about like he just couldn't wait to play, and Adam was looking back and forth between the keys and the guitar stands. Eliza said something to him, and he ran towards the keyboards. Eliza turned and looked at all of them, then Luke counted off from the set. Then, they were off!

The song started with a cool drum beat, gradually building. Then piano chords and guitar strums were added. After a quick intro, Eliza opened her mouth and began to sing.

_I knew you were empty,_

_I knew you will always stand still,_

_I'm alone,_

_But oh how I've grown  
Thought that he'd left me,_

_Thought that he'd burned out bright,_

_And I'm alone,_

_But somehow I'm alright._

Nellie was highly impressed with Eliza's deep tone and her multi-tasking during the first verse of the song. She noticed Shanna was swaying slightly as the band headed to the pre-chorus.

_It seemed so easy,_

_Just to walk, just to run,_

_But if you leave me,_

_I can reappoint myself, with my true love, the one  
_

The band hit the chorus, joining together for three chords and rocking out.

_Just leave town,_

_I can sleep when you're not around_

_Thought it was myself that I'd found _

"They're really good." Nellie whispered to Michael, who nodded and smiled. It was good dining music.

_I knew you were empty,_

_I knew you will always stand still ,I'm alone,_

_But oh how I've grown  
Thought that he'd left me,_

_Thought that he'd burned out bright,_

_And I'm alone,_

_But somehow I'm alright_

_It seemed so easy,_

_Just to walk, just to run,_

_But if you leave me,_

_I can reappoint myself, with my true love, the one_

As impressed with as she was with Eliza, Nellie was really amazed when Adam started playing piano chords with one hand and shaking the tambourine in the other and hitting his leg with it. Seriously, it was a feat.

_Just leave town_

_I can sleep when you're not around_

_Thought it was myself that I'd found_

Lots of power pushed through Eliza's before gentle voice, building up for the ending.

_I said just leave town_

_I can sleep when you're not around_

_Thought it was myself that I'd found_

_I gotta take another call right now._

The song finished with Eliza singing a capella, her voice echoing a tad bit. The gang broke into applause and Nellie joined them, as did various other people around the restaurant.

"Thank you." Eliza said smiling, "That was a song called Empty by Lianne la Havas."

Suddenly a group of people armed with horns walked towards the stage from where they had been hiding in the back. They mumbled their apologies as they came closer.

"Aw look, it's the horn section." Eliza said with a mischievous grin, drawing even more attention to them. "We missed you guys."

They grumbled at her but were pretty smiley. One of them, a tall trombone with Buddy Holly glasses, came up to the mike next to Eliza. "We're sorry Eliza, we had to tune." He said with a smile and some sincerity. There were three trumpets, two trombones, and two saxophones. They were getting settled when Eliza walked over to the mike.

"Thanks for your patience, everyone. Blake Jenner, we're in need of your guitar skills." Eliza said and wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"Well, duty calls." Blake said, jumping up from the table and running towards the stage.

Once everyone was ready, the ensemble did a rendition of Spoon's "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb," and Blake returned to the table. The band continued to do fun rock stuff like "I'm a Believer" and Fitz & the Tantrum's "LOV." They did a Young the Giant song (I Got), and The Shins (Fighting in a Sack). They also did a cool acoustic version of Best Coast's "Our Deal" with Shanna on back-up vocals.

At one point the band realized that they didn't have enough people to cover instruments. Eliza had an idea, of course. "Charlie Lubeck! You always enjoy impromptu performances, come up here!" She shouted and waved him up.

Charlie leaped up out of his chair. "This'll be fun!" He said and trotted towards the band.

Once he was on stage, Eliza told him the conditions. "The song is Lalita by The Love Language, which I know you know." He nodded happily. "You have a choice, guitar or vocals."

"Vocals, I don't know the guitar part." He replied easily.

"Okay, I'll do guitar. I'll help you with lyrics. We can share lead, if you like." Liza told him and handed him the tambourine. "But, you have to tambour."

Charlie grinned and accepted it. "Deal. Oh, and Liza?" She looked at him inquiringly while strapping on the guitar, "Thanks for letting me do this." He looked in the direction of Aylin, and Liza followed his gaze.

She grinned back at him. "I think I'm going to regret saying this, but we need you, Charles. Just do us a favor and try to somewhat follow the melody?"

They did a great job, Charlie singing lead quite effortlessly and running around on stage. Eliza helped him by adding her voice as a backup while playing the fun, upbeat guitar riff.

"Everyone give a hand for our rousing fill-in, Mr. Charles Lubeck." There was some polite clapping as he bowed and hurried offstage, then returned to the table and Aylin.

"How was I?" He asked her cheekily. "Good enough for a kiss?" Performing made him courageous.

"We'll see about that." She replied with a wink before turning abruptly to Shanna and starting a conversation about hair-styling.

Charlie's fist pumped in the air before he brought it down to say a quick, reverent prayer.

"Abraham Lim to the stage, Abraham Lim." Luke muttered into one of the microphones. Liza was talking to the horns.

Abraham shot a grin at everyone as he got up to leave. "Enjoy this. Especially you two." He said, gesturing to Michael and Nellie.

"What was that about?" Nellie asked Michael, but he just shrugged and furrowed his brow.

The band prepared themselves; Luke was at the drum set, Adam on keys and backup vocals, George with his bass, the horns lined up and jumpy, Eliza at a mike on a stand with the tambourine. She handed Abraham a different mike before talking into her own. "Ladies and gentlemen: Abraham Lim."

"Oh," Michael said with a slight smile, "this is the Motown I was promised." Nellie raised her eyebrows at him, but turned back towards the stage.

The horns started playing a low, repetitive but danceable beat. Luke did a magnificent Hawaii 5 O-esque drumroll as Eliza and Abe danced.

_I never met a girl who makes me feel the way that you do _

Abe sang with passion,

_(it's alright)_

Eliza spun around before singing the back up with a huge grin.

_Whenever I'm asked who makes my dreams real  
I say that you do  
(you're outta sight)  
So fee fi fo fum_

While watching Abraham perform, Nellie suddenly realized why Michael wanted his stage name to be Snap Crackle Pop. On the stage, he was fierce. "Get Ready" was the perfect song for him.__

Look out baby 'cause here I come.  
And I'm bringing you a love that's true so get ready

Michael reflected that Abraham was a good person to sing Motown, because he was plenty soulful. Next to him, Eliza was having too much fun dancing and doing motions.

_So get ready  
I'm gonna try to make love to you so get ready  
So get ready here I come.  
I'm on my way._

Nellie sighed. It just looked like so much fun.__

If you wanna play hide and seek with love let me remind you  
(it's alright)  
The loving you're gonna miss and the time it takes to find you  
(it's outta sight)  
So fiddle-lee-dee fiddle-lee-dum

Look out baby 'cause here I come.  
And I'm bringing you a love that's true so get ready  
So get ready  
I'm gonna try to make love to you so get ready  
So get ready here I come.  
I'm on my way.

Liza and Adam danced like spies while one of the saxophones soloed. They smiled at each other.__

All my friends shouldn't want me to I understand it  
(be alright)  
I hope I'll get to you before they do the way I planned it  
(be outta sight)  
So twiddle-dee-dee twiddle dee dum

Look out baby 'cause here I come.  
And I'm bringing you a love that's true so get ready  
So get ready  
I'm gonna try to make love to you so get ready  
So get ready here I come.  
I'm on my way.  
Get ready 'cause here I come, boy.  
Get ready 'cause here I come, boy.  
Get ready 'cause here I come, boy.

When they finished the crowd enthusiastically clapped and Abe grabbed Liza's hand and they lifted them in success. "Thanks, Abe." Eliza told him as he left the stage. He turned around and blew her a kiss as he ran. She smiled and put her hands to her heart knowingly. Then she walked over to Adam. "You ready to sing?"

He smiled nervously at her and shrugged. "I honestly can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe you're _letting_ me do this."

"That should be comforting," She told him, "Would I let you sing if you didn't sound good?" He shrugged again. She turned serious and touched his arm. "You'll be great, I know it. Be confident."

He shook his head. "Why do you have so much faith? What if I totally screw up this good thing we've got going?" He looked at her with concerned and slightly shy puppy eyes. This seemed to be a hard thing for him to ask.

She tilted her head to the side, like she wasn't sure how to explain it to him. "Adam, do you know how many times you sing in front of people? You do it all the time, just unofficially." She shook her head and looked at him. "Your talent isn't going to suddenly vanish when you're on stage. If you forget the words, I'll back you up. You just need to relax and enjoy the attention."

"I might be able to do that." He looked out at the audience, then back at her with a tiny smile. "But still, what if I mess up horribly?"

Her hand moved from his arm to his hand, which she squeezed. "I'll cover you." She gave him a little smile before letting go and moving to the drum set.

Luke was standing at the ready with an electric guitar. Adam picked up his acoustic guitar and sat on a stool behind a mike stand. He glanced back at Eliza, who smiled, and then back at the crowd. He started strumming his guitar and eventually began to sing The Fratellis' "Whistle for the Choir", a slower song than one would've expected from him. After about a verse, Luke joined him on the electric and Eliza drummed gently with brushes and harmonized with Adam. He kept glancing back at her, as if to make sure she was still there. She smiled encouragingly at him, and eventually he began to smile too. At one point, Luke soloed on guitar while Adam showed off his impressive talent of whistling.

When they'd finished, Adam grabbed Eliza's shoulders as she got up from the set and shook her. "Elizabeth! I did it!" He face had a giant grin plastered across it.

"Did I ever doubt you?" Eliza said with a shake of her head and a knowing smile. "Now get your guitar again, we have two more songs to do."

The next song they did was "That Girl" by Noisettes, which was fun and energetic and sort of similar to the girl group music of the '60s, except Adam sang backup while Liza sang lead while playing the piano.

"Miss Shanna Henderson, please return to the stage. Michael, you're on deck." Eliza said into the mike as the band set up for their last official song, "Paris Nights/New York Mornings" by Corinne Bailey Rae. It was Shanna's favorite to sing backup on.

This meant that Shanna ended up dancing and facing backwards with the tambourine at the beginning of the song. Very old school of her. Eliza was playing keyboards again, though it was technically organ, Luke was rocking the drums, Adam was on the electric guitar, George was holding down the fort with the bass, and the horns were ready to play at any moment.

Nellie sighed. She'd been impressed with the band and their set the whole night, but now she was at the point where she wanted to be up there with all of her friends. She was immensely glad she'd come along as Michael had suggested. She sort of understood the appeal now; it was kind of magical, with the lanterns casting their glow and the aroma of delicious food wafting. The Hopper was cozy, no doubt. But she wanted to be up there performing, expressing herself! It looked fun, and God knows she has a lot to express.

After The Birds had finished, Michael got up from the table. "See you on the other side." He told Nellie with a smile and wiggled his eyebrows before turning around and striding towards the stage. Nellie turned back to her massive heap of waffle fries.

Shanna soon returned, but no other band members did. "Why are they still up there?" Nellie asked her once she had gotten comfortable in her chair again.

"Liza and Michael are going to sing a duet together, which is going to be totally adorable, just like you'd expect." Shanna replied with a slight grin and an eye roll.

Aylin smiled. "Where did they get this perfect sibling relationship? I don't get along with anyone in my family that well." She took a sip of her Cherry Lemonade through her straw. "The two of them are like best friends."

Blake looked slightly offended. "Eliza is not Michael's best friend." He said heatedly.

"Sure she isn't." Abraham said in an unconvincing tone and patted his shoulder.

"Guys, they appear to be starting." This was from Ali, down at the other end of the table.

Up on stage, Michael was standing at the ready with his guitar strapped on, Eliza was next to him with a tambourine, Adam was on the drums, George hanging out with the bass, and Luke and the horns were shuffling off the stage as quietly as possible. Which meant that they were just a normal level of noisy.

Once they had left the stage, Michael moved up to the microphone and shot the audience a smile. "Hey, everyone. I'm Michael, and I'm gonna be singing with Eliza. She and her band have done a fantastic job tonight." He looked over at her, and she walked up to the mike to add something.

"A heartfelt thanks to the Grasshopper for letting us play here, and thanks to you all for coming and dining here." She said sincerely.

"And thanks for listening." Michael added. "Liza, let's start with the Beatles."

He counted off, and then the two broke out into song.

_It's been a long time  
Now I'm coming back home_

The two started, harmonizing, while Eliza tamboured.

_I've been away now  
Oh how, I've been alone_

The rest of the band joined in.__

Wait till I come back to your side  
We'll forget the tears we've cried

But if your heart breaks  
Don't wait, turn me away  
And if your heart's strong  
Hold on, I won't delay

Michael was singing the main part, and was singing it very well as Eliza sang the top harmony and danced with the tambourine.__

Wait till I come back to your side  
We'll forget the tears we've cried

I feel as though  
You ought to know  
That I've been good  
As good as I can be  
And if you do

Michael sang on his own in his passionate, smooth voice. Nellie sort of adored it._  
I'll trust in you  
And know that you  
Will wait for me_

Eliza finished the verse, singing at her brother. The two were constantly looking at each other, judging the performance and pulling back and adding their voices. They had good balance as a duo._  
_

_It's been a long time  
Now I'm coming back home  
I've been away now  
Oh how, I've been alone_

Wait till I come back to your side  
We'll forget the tears we've cried

I feel as though  
You ought to know  
That I've been good  
As good as I can be  
And if you do  
I'll trust in you  
And know that you  
Will wait for me

They looked like they were having so much fun, and like they did this all the time. They probably did, honestly. __

But if your heart breaks  
Don't wait, turn me away  
And if your heart's strong  
Hold on, I won't delay

Wait till I come back to your side  
We'll forget the tears we've cried

It's been a long time  
Now I'm coming back home  
I've been away now  
Oh how, I've been alone

They sang the last chord looking at each other, both with small smiles as Liza and the band tamboured out._  
_

"Yes!" Michael shouted as he moved his guitar to give his sister a hug. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Thanks for that. Okay, we'll leave the stage now." She said as she let go and moved to hustle the boys off the stage.

A little while later, she landed in Michael's former chair next to Nellie. Michael was busy singing a version of Coldplay's "Trouble", but Nellie managed to tear her eyes away to give Eliza a hug.

"You were amazing!" Nellie told her as she hugged her.

Eliza smiled wearily and nodded. "Thanks. I'm glad you're enjoying tonight." She gave Nellie a smile before whispering happily with the others.

Michael did quite well with no other instruments besides his guitar. He covered Mumford & Sons, sang "Loving You" by Paolo Nutini, sang Ray LaMontagne, and "Give it Up" by Amos Lee.

"So this next song is for all the Motown lovers out there. And a person whom I try to be there for, but she is always there for me." Michael said as he adjusted his guitar and waved Adam up onto the stage. "I need a little help for this one." Adam was armed with the tambourine (of course) and the woodblock. Michael grinned, prepared himself, and started strumming.

_Now if you feel that you can't go on (can't go on)  
Because all of your hope is gone (all your hope is gone)  
And your life is filled with much confusion (much confusion)  
Until happiness is just an illusion (happiness is just an illusion)  
And your world around is crumbling down, darlin'_

Michael and Adam were jamming and smiling, but their smiles were nothing compared to Eliza's. She hadn't stopped smiling since Michael had started singing and had one hand clapped over her mouth.__

_(Reach out) Come on girl reach on out for me  
(Reach out) Reach out for me  
Hah, I'll be there with a love that will shelter you  
I'll be there with a love that will see you through_

When you feel lost and about to give up (to give up)  
'Cause your best just ain't good enough (just ain't good enough)  
And your feel the world has grown cold (has grown cold)  
And your drifting out all on your own (drifting out on your own)  
And you need a hand to hold, darlin'

"How are they managing to do an acoustic version of this song?" Eliza asked, a mystified look in her eyes. She loved the Four Tops.__

_(Reach out) Come on girl, reach out for me  
(Reach out) Reach out for me  
Hah, I'll be there to love and comfort you  
And I'll be there to cherish and care for you_

(I'll be there to always see you through)  
(I'll be there to love and comfort you)

I can tell the way you hang your head (hang your head)  
You're not in love now, now you're afraid (you're afraid)  
And through your tears you look around (look around)  
But there's no peace of mind to be found (no peace of mind to be found)  
I know what your thinking  
You're a loner, no love of your own, but darling

Nellie sighed happily. How sweet was it that Michael sang a song to Eliza for being a good sister? Ah, he really was as seemingly perfect as Abraham had originally described. __

_(Reach out) Come on girl reach out for me  
Reach out, just look over your shoulder  
I'll be there to give you all the love you need  
And I'll be there you can always depend on me  
I'll be there_

Eliza whooped when the song was over. She made a heart with her hands and nodded at Michael when they caught each other's eyes.

Michael continued to perform, singing everything from Ben Folds to John Mayer to classic Sam Cooke. He did Blues, covering Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Otis Redding. He also did a couple of originals, which were very impressive lyrically and musically. By this point, Nellie couldn't help but be smitten. Michael was a math nerd who was adorable, wrote songs, and dedicated them to his sister. And he sang so well, with so much heart! By the time Michael finished his set, Nellie was blown away.

She was clearing away her dishes (the food had been incredible), when Michael came over to the table, guitar on his back. Eliza immediately smothered him in a hug and everyone gathered around to talk and arrange rides.

"So Nellie, a.k.a. Coco Puffs, how was your first time at the Grasshopper?" Blake asked her while they were on the way out the door.

Nellie smiled softly. "I loved it, Captain Crunch."

**I don't know why, but I felt like ending that way. Hello everyone! I'm sorry about the late update, as usual, but I guess that's just how these things work when you have a life. This was my favorite scene to write so far, so I hope everyone enjoyed it! If you don't know any of the songs, I highly suggest you look them up and listen to them. They are fantastic. This seemed to be a long chap to me, so apologies if it was overly long. Also, it was harder to write Michael's music than The Birds' because he isn't a figment of my imagination and I wasn't sure what he would do. I tried my best. On another note, I'm so excited about this new duo thing Nellie and Michael have going on in real life! Thanks for reading! Review! Suggest! Enjoy! **


	7. Chapter 7

"Liza, get over here! I need you!" Charlie yelled from behind the counter of his kitchen.

Liza was sitting upright very properly in a chair and eating the chicken strips that Charlie's mom had made her when she'd found out that Eliza hadn't had anything to eat that night. She had been listening to Abraham and Michael argue about the importance of math versus science, which they did all day and all night. She herself usually jumped in by moderating the argument and adding a opinion for language arts and history, but tonight the guys were in way too deep talking about derivatives and how Isaac Newton was such a genius because he invented the laws of physics and calculus.

"I'm not sure I can leave, these two might injure themselves trying to defy gravity or something." She called into the kitchen back at Charlie.

Michael paused in his description of the invention of music evolving from math to shout at Charlie. "A word of advice, Charles: ask nicely."

Charlie stuck his head out and looked at Eliza. "Lady Elizabeth, would you please come join me in the kitchen for a moment?"

"Alright." Eliza got up from her chair as Shanna walked in. She laughed when she realized the guys were having their age old argument.

"I'll watch 'em, Liza." Shanna said and waved Eliza away as she sat down in her chair.

Eliza walked into the kitchen and set her plate on the counter as she leaned against it. "Hey."

"Hey," Charlie greeted her. He was setting out sodas on the counter, and he tossed a Dr. Pepper to her. He gestured to a plate with various fruit and cheese and crackers on it. "That's for you."

"Why thank you, Charles!" Eliza said with a surprised but happy expression on her face. "What is the occasion?"

Charlie shook his head and grinned at her. "You didn't eat or drink anything and sang for almost an hour straight. I'm celebrating your rare recklessness." Eliza just stared at him with her eyebrows raised. "Oh, alright fine. I wanted to thank you."

Eliza cocked her head to one side. "For what?"

"Could you please take ice cream inventory while you're here?" He gestured to the freezer.

Eliza opened it and began to count ice creams. "Continue on."

"Well, for one thing, you encouraged me to meet new people and put myself out there." Charlie said with little smile.

"Ah." Eliza said with a knowing expression. He was talking about Aylin. "Sure."

"And for another, you let me sing, which I think was the tipping point." He was full out grinning wistfully now.

"Of what?" Eliza asked with a half amused, half worried face.

"Of winning her." Charlie sighed, and Eliza gasped. He was already referring to Aylin as "Her". Charlie could definitely fall in love easily. "Aylin has realized that even though I'm a dork, I am also gentleman with a voice that croons. It might've gotten me a kiss." He said smugly.

"It only might've of gotten you one? You don't know for sure?" Eliza said teasingly.

Charlie hit her with a towel. "Shut up and tell me how much ice cream we have."

Break

Nellie was sitting on the floor with her legs spread out in front of her and crossed at the ankles as she leaned back against the couch. She was in the Weisman's living room, a space with two couches, a flat screen TV, and recliners. It was a large room with carpeted floor and rugs on top on top of the carpet. The gang was spread throughout the floor, but most of them were in the living room.

On the couch behind Nellie was Michael and Aylin, across from them on the other couch sat Eliza, Blake, and George. Abraham, Adam, and Luke were standing and trying to do various tricks like cartwheels and throwing food in their mouths.

Presently Charlie and Shanna walked into the room from the kitchen.

"Attention!" Shanna shouted and cleared her throat, making the others laugh. "The time has come for the ice cream creators go to their stations and prep. I now hand it over to our host and announcer, Mr. Charlie Lubeck!"

Everyone clapped and cheered as Michael and Abe got up from their seats and went to the kitchen. Charlie bowed, and then began to speak. "Alright. Welcome all to the first ever Ice Cream

Battle, hosted at the Lubeck household." There was a smattering of applause, and Charlie grinned at them all. "Elizabeth, the rules sheet!"

"Right here." Eliza handed over the lined sheet paper.

"Our dear Eliza has created the list of official rules for this situation, and has vowed to be completely neutral until the taste testing. The Official Regulations of an Ice Cream Battle as of 20 minutes ago." He looked around to make sure everyone was listening. "The two contests will both get equal amounts of counter space, vanilla ice cream, and toppings. Each contest must use the vanilla ice cream and a minimum of one topping of their choice in their dish."

"Wow." Aylin muttered to Eliza. "You took this very seriously."

"Hey!" Blake shouted at her. "Ice cream is very serious."

Charlie shot Blake an annoyed glance. "May I continue?" He asked them all. When he had received nods and eye contact, he continued. "Each contest must serve a group of civilians their ice cream creations, and this group must be at least 7 people. Before the ice cream is served all dishes must be inspected visually and found equal. After tasting, every taste tester will get one vote that goes toward whichever ice cream creation they preferred according to taste, visual presentation, or any other reason they might have. Contests are allowed to vote, but to win this right they must taste both ice creams. In the case of a tie, the voting will be extended to a parent or additional friend whom is not biased." Charlie looked up at the group and smiled. "Does anyone hunger for ice cream? Let the tasting begin!"

Cheers erupted from the group. Everyone got up and headed into the kitchen where Michael and Abraham were. Someone had laid out food on the counter for them along with candy, cookies, and soda. The two boys were each on opposite sides of the kitchen, perfecting each dish of ice cream. Predictably, Michael was sitting on the counter with a jar of peanut butter and delicately swirling it into the vanilla scoops. Abraham on the other hand was cutting off the ends of Twisler's and Redvines and stuffing them with toppings.

Michael noticed what he was doing. "Liza! Is what Abe is doing legal?"

Abraham looked offended but turned to Eliza. "Tell him, Liza."

Liza smiled and looked back at her brother. "He's perfectly clean. In fact, I'd say he's using the rules to his advantage. There's a one topping _minimum_."

"But isn't this a competition between the two toppings?" Michael asked, confused.

Eliza considered this. "Valid point. Here's what I'd say: the formerly chosen topping must be the star of the show. It needs to be most present in your dish. Other toppings may enhance the dish." Liza looked around at everyone else stuffing themselves with food and talking. "Oi! Did you all here that? Pay attention to the toppings and choose wisely!"

Nellie scampered up to Michael and leaned against the counter. "So, what're you gonna do?"

Michael quickly checked all of his dishes before looking at her. He let out a sigh. "I think I'm going to keep it simple."

Nellie gave him a small encouraging smile. "Well, I wish you luck."

"Thanks, Resident Ice Cream Expert." Michael said back to her. He got a smile from Nellie as she went to talk to Abraham. "Hey Liza, I'm ready."

Liza nodded and checked on Abraham, who was still creating. After a minute or so, he waved her over.

"Check it out!" Abraham said proudly to her. His creations were very creative and colorful. Besides licorice, Abraham had used chocolate syrup and M&Ms along with other unidentifiable gummy candies.

Eliza grinned. "Well, you definitely get style points." She glanced over at Charlie, who was talking with Aylin. "Charles! I have inspected the ice cream! Both teams are go!"

"Everybody hear that?" Charlie yelled loudly. Charlie had a gift for getting people pumped and excited. Everyone looked at him in anticipation. "Gentlemen, shake hands."

Michael and Abraham stepped forward to shake. "If I lose, I lose to a worthy opponent." Michael said smiling to Abraham. Abraham pulled him into a bro hug.

"I think I need a drum roll!" Charlie yelled.

Blake, on the counter, jumped up. "Lize! Sticks!" he yelled to Liza as she and Luke ran back with their drumsticks. They only had two pairs though. Adam jumped up too, for he also needed sticks.

Everyone else had already begun the drum roll on the cabinets and counters.

"Uh…" Eliza glanced around franticly at them, threw he sticks at Adam, and opened a drawer.  
"Aha! Here!" She yelled at Blake as she tossed him two wooden spoons before getting two for herself.

Together Adam, Luke, Liza, and Blake did the "official" drum roll.

"Ok. Everyone get one bowl of each ice cream! Commence tasting!" Charlie yelled and brought his hands down like a referee at the starting signal of a race.

Everyone got in line for ice cream, and Abraham and Michael handed it out. Then they moved to hang out in the other rooms as they ate. Michael and Abraham joined their friends after dishing out all the ice cream. Michael lay down on the floor with his ice cream in a bowl on his chest and ate it like that.

Meanwhile, Eliza, Blake and Adam were talking.

"Nice save back there, Liza." Blake said with a smile and gestured to the sticks in his back pocket.

Liza smiled. "Thanks, Blake." She looked over at where Nellie, Abraham, and Michael were situated. Abraham had decided to lie like Michael and had demanded Nellie to feed them, which she demurely refused to do. "Look at them, all friendly."

Blake glanced over, and then his eyes lit up. "I have a great idea!" He shouted and shot off towards the others.

Adam glanced at Eliza. "What do you think he's gonna do?"

"Something creative and probably funny, knowing Blake." She replied. "But who knows."

Adam took a breath. "Liza?"

She looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Thank you." He said.

"For what?"

He sighed and looked away, then made eye contact with her. "You know. For helping me, being my friend, and generally being awesome."

"Of course." She said smiling slightly, still looking at him carefully because he had a funny expression on his face. "Why are you thanking me now though?"

"You seem to be doing a lot of match making lately," he purposely eyed Charlie, who had ice cream on his nose, and Nellie, who giggled from her place leaning over Michael at something he had said. "And it's making you tired."

"You the think the couples are making me tired? Not the mass amounts of homework from school?" She shook her head at him. "What about you? You seem too serious for your own good."

He smiled. "Well, you know. Girl troubles."

"You? Girl troubles? I didn't know such a thing was possible." Eliza said smugly.

"Girls are complicated." He shrugged and tried to hide the color creeping up his neck.

"I'm glad to hear you're finally figuring that out." She told him. Charlie was waving her over. "Oh, looks like it's time to tally up the votes. Wish me luck with this whole process." She said over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Throw the election! Throw it!" He yelled after her.

She turned around and grinned at him. "It's an ice cream democracy!" As Liza was walking toward Charlie, Blake grabbed her.

"Liza! You're just in time to see my idea play out!" He pointed to Michael and Abraham, the only ones who had yet to finish their ice cream. They were sitting up now. Abraham had a bowl of his type of ice cream, and Michael had a bowl of his.

"What are you gonna make them do?" Liza asked Blake critically.

"Just watch." He said with a goofy grin.

Nellie brought her camera out. Michael and Abraham, making serious eye contact, both got a big spoonful of ice cream and shoved them in each other's mouths, wedding style. Nellie snapped a photo of the two of them, Abraham with a crazed look in his eyes and trying not to swallow, and Michael smiling with red-tinted vanilla ice cream dripping down his chin.

Eliza chuckled. "Oh Blake, this is why we're friends."

"Aww, look at the love birds." Aylin cooed and laughed.

"Liza." Charlie called and grabbed her by the elbow. "Let's start the voting."

Eliza cleared her throat. "Alright. While the love birds finish eating their ice cream, the voting can begin. Here's how it'll work: when I call your name, you will go into the kitchen and place your spoon on one side of the counter. One side is Michael's, one side is Abraham's. Then you will come back out and keep your mouth shut." She glanced around menacingly. "Everyone will vote."

And so it was. Eliza called everyone's name, and each person went in the back with their spoon and returned without it. The very last person to go was Nellie, and she very carefully made her decision.

"The votes are in." Eliza said before going in the kitchen to count the spoons. She disappeared into the room, then after a minute or so came back out and whispered something in Charlie's ear.

"Attention! I have the results." He shouted at the group, who quieted down. They looked up at him eagerly in suspense as he continued whispering with Liza.

Michael sat up quickly. He flattened his palms and leaned his face against them. He looked over at Abraham, who was also watching intently.

Charlie cleared his throat. "In a very close tally," he started out, "we found our ice cream winner. And that person is…." He hung on a while for suspense, "Michael Weisman and his Peanut Butter Ice Cream!"

"Yeah!" Michael jumped up and fist pumped in the air. Everyone else decided to pile on him and form a group hug. Michael, grinning, turned around because he'd felt someone poke him. That someone was Abraham, who glared at him for a second before breaking into a grin and tackling him in a hug.

"As long as it was close." Abraham said jokingly to him.

"Let's continue this party, shall we?" Charlie yelled and turned on Macklemore's And We Danced. The party then resumed, and there was much dancing and singing.

I'm not even going to apologize. You get it. If anyone is still actively interested in this story, please write a review. Otherwise, I'm not sure what direction I'm going to go with it. But I wanted to finish this chapter for you guys.


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